Global, national Whirlpool cuts continue

Whirlpool Corp. announced Tuesday (April 7) the closure of a washing machine factory in Shanghai, China, as part of a global effort to realign costs and production that has resulted in job reductions in Fort Smith and a recent plant closure in Oxford, Miss.

The closure of the Shanghai factory will result in the elimination of about 600 positions, according to a Whirlpool statement. The company’s China regional headquarters — a research and development center, and its commercial and administrative operations that employ about 480 — will remain located in Shanghai.

Production of washing machines will be consolidated into the company’s Hisense-Whirlpool joint venture facility, located in the ChangXing Economic Development Zone, in the ZheJiang Province, creating 900 new jobs by end of 2009, Whirlpool said.

In March, Whirlpool began shutting down its plant in Oxford that has produced cooktops, built-in ovens, slide-in and freestanding ranges, and the KitchenAid Pro Series under the Whirlpool and KitchenAid brands, according to a story from the Associated Press. The plant, which opened in 1956 as Chambers Corp. and produced stoves, employed about 750.

Whirlpool invested $20 million in the plant in 1996 and $10 million in 2004. The 2004 investment, which added about 150 jobs, was hoped by community officials as a sign the company would stay.

But in July 2008, Whirlpool announced it would close the plant. The plant, which opened in 1956 as Chambers Corp. and produced stoves, employed about 750 when the announcement was made. Employment at the plant had peaked at about 1,000.

Officials in Fort Smith have shared the same concerns as those in Oxford. Whirlpool’s Fort Smith plant employed about 4,500 in early 2006, but is down to no more than 1,400 in recent weeks.

Whirlpool’s North America segment — to which the company’s Fort Smith plant belongs — saw fourth-quarter sales of $2.5 billion, down 18% from the prior year. U.S. industry unit shipments of major appliances declined approximately 10%. Based on current economic conditions, the company expects full-year 2009 U.S. industry unit shipments to decline approximately 10 percent from 2008.

Also, Whirlpool managers, including plant chief Ken Thompson, told Fort Smith employees that 2009 marks the last year of the refrigerator contract with Sears.