Electrolux AB will lay off 150 workers at its refrigeration factory in Mariestad, Sweden as it reduces plant production.
The Mariestad plant manufactures refrigerators and upright freezers in capacities up to 400 L. As of mid-2004, the plant had approximately 1,100 employees producing 500,000 appliances annually.
A UPI report said Electrolux blames lower-cost competition, which reduced demand for the products from the plant. Electrolux plans to develop higher-specification refrigerator and freezer designs to be produced here.
AFX reports that employees at Electrolux’s AEG Hausgeraete GmbH’s plant in Nuremberg, Germany, struck yesterday a show of protest against the possibility of plant production moving to Poland. The union that organized the 1-day strike also threatened a boycott of Electrolux products in the event of the plant’s closing. The plant closing decision will likely be made October 24.