Whirlpool Consolidation to Bring Jobs to Ohio Plants

By John Nolan, Dayton Daily News, Ohio

May 10–Whirlpool Corp.’s decision to close three U.S. plants and eliminate 4,500 jobs will send an undisclosed number of the manufacturing jobs to two northern Ohio plants in Clyde and Marion, the company said Wednesday.

The appliance manufacturer said it would create about 1,500 jobs at other Whirlpool locations, resulting in a net elimination of 3,000 positions when the changes are done. Whirlpool, based in Benton Harbor, Mich., announced the changes in a consolidation being done as a result of its $1.68 billion purchase of former rival Maytag Corp.

Among the jobs Whirlpool is eliminating are 1,800 salaried positions as it closes Maytag’s corporate headquarters and a research facility in Newton, Iowa, and closes administrative offices in Illinois, Canada and Mexico. Whirlpool’s laundry washer and dryer manufacturing plants in Clyde and Marion are efficient and have the capacity to increase production, said David Swift, president of Whirlpool North America.

Washer and dryer factories in Searcy, Ark., and Herrin, Ill., will close by the end of this year and a factory in Maytag’s former headquarters city of Newton will close in 2007, Whirlpool said.

The company estimates it will cost about $175 million for consolidating the administrative offices and for some of the expenses related to the factory closings. Whirlpool said it isn’t yet able to estimate what the termination costs will be for the plant closings. The company could reveal those at a May 23 conference call with industry analysts.

Whirlpool acquired Maytag in March. Last month, Whirlpool reported that its first-quarter earnings increased by 37 percent to $118 million, or $1.70 per share, from $86 million and $1.26 per share a year ago. Sales increased by 10 percent to $3.5 billion, up from $3.2 billion in the first quarter last year.

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