Whirlpool production again in question

The employee count at Whirlpool’s Fort Smith plant has remained relatively low for so long that the company has had to spray the parking lot with weed killer.

And sources say the activity at what was once one of the largest manufacturing operations in Arkansas may dwindle further.

Primarily the result of the housing-sector induced national recession, Benton Harbor, Mich.-based Whirlpool made numerous production cuts and layoffs causing employment in Fort Smith to drop from about 4,600 in early 2006 to less than around 1,100 today. The global appliance maker employs about 67,000 around the world and posted $18.4 billion in revenue during 2010.

In 2010, the company cut about 850 jobs at its Fort Smith operation, which left the employee count at 1,020 hourly and 110 salaried workers at the end of November.

Sources tell The City Wire that plant hourly employment may to drop to around 550 in the August-October period. The plant, according to the sources, will refocus on primarily producing the low-end (price range) boxes and send higher-end products to other plants, including the company’s newest refrigerator plant in Ramos Arizpe, Mexico.

Whirlpool spokeswoman Kristine Vernier said reduced demand did nix plans for extra work at the plant.

“Due to a change in demand, Whirlpool has cancelled plans for an intended line rate increase that would have taken effect at the end of June. Other than normal fluctuations there have been no substantial changes in employment numbers from those we discussed last fall. As always, we continue to monitor the business environment closely and adjust to changes in market conditions,” Vernier noted in the statement.

But Vernier said the company would not respond to “rumor or speculation” about future employment or discuss the status of such a large plant that houses so few employees.

“I did some further checking and confirmed that there are no plans for significant changes in production rates or employee count from what we have previously communicated,” Vernier wrote in a follow up e-mail. “There are a few more scheduled down days than earlier anticipated, however this is not unusual in our normal course of business and is a reflection of the soft economy and decrease in demand. We are still winding down the production of counter depth refrigerators which was announced to employees in 2009.”

One source said the company has used “Round Up” to control weeds on a large gravel parking lot used when the company employed more than 4,000.