Whirlpool to cut 65 jobs

Whirlpool Corp. officials announced Wednesday (July 27) the reduction of up to 25 salaried jobs in Fort Smith and confirmed that ending indoor ice maker production will result in up to 40 jobs lost by the end of August.

The up to 65 jobs lost at Whirlpool’s Fort Smith refrigeration manufacturing plant are in addition to about 40 jobs cut in July related to the end of a short-term production run of counter depth appliances.

“Demand for major appliances in the U.S. is at recessionary levels. Whirlpool has confirmed that a salaried reduction in force at its Fort Smith plant is necessary to better reflect current demand and volume. Approximately 20-25 salaried positions will be eliminated by the end of the year through layoffs or retirement,” according to the Wednesday statement from Whirlpool spokeswoman Kristine Vernier.

Whirlpool noted in its second quarter earnings report that the company’s U.S. appliance shipments would decline by 1%-2% in 2011. The previous guidance was that U.S. shipments in 2011 would increase by as much as 3%.

As to the indoor ice work ending in August, the company noted: “We have communicated to employees previously that the phasing out of our indoor ice models will likely result in a layoff of approximately 30-40 people.”

The confirmed job losses push total Whirlpool employment in Fort Smith to about 950 hourly workers and 85 salaried.

Sources interviewed by The CIty Wire stand by their previous claims 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.

The sources also say the salaried job cuts are likely to reach 50 by the end of 2011.

Whirlpool denies employment will drop to the 550 level or that more salaried job cuts are possible, saying no “additional layoffs are planned at this time.” The company has also declined to comment on specific production moves.

Primarily the result of the housing-sector induced national recession, Benton Harbor, Mich.-based Whirlpool made 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. 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.

The global appliance maker employs about 67,000 around the world and posted $18.4 billion in revenue during 2010.