MIDDLE AMANA – Maytag Corp. plans to hire about 200 additional production workers at its eastern Iowa refrigerator plant.
The announcement follows job increases at the Middle Amana plant earlier this year. The new employment could benefit workers who have lost jobs in recent eastern Iowa plant closings.
“We’re hiring people for a production team,” said Lynne Dragomier, Maytag’s senior director of corporate communications. The hiring process was brought about by increased production schedules from increased demand on refrigeration products, she said.
The Middle Amana plant, at 2800 220th Trail, will have an on-site job fair from 4 to 8 p.m. Tuesday. Due to company policy, Dragomier could not specify how many positions the company would fill, but said the hiring process must be completed by February.
The starting wage for the jobs at the plan is $11.82 per hour, while the average production wage in the plan is $15.33 per hour.
Maytag is scheduled to close its other existing refrigerator plant in Galesburg, Ill., which had 1,900 employees, in the second half of 2004.
Last month, the Iowa County Board of Supervisors offered Maytag Corp. a tax break if they choose to build a $15 million distribution center on land owned by the Amana Society. The center would create about 125 jobs.
Iowa County officials see the project as an important economic opportunity that would come at no cost to tax payers, supervisor Charles Montross said. The county is willing to set up a Tax Increment Financing District, hold off taxing Maytag for 10 years and rebate any property taxes generated by the warehouse project, he said. In exchange Maytag will pay for the bonds on the project and the cost to improve a portion of Iowa County road V Avenue, from Highway 6/151 to the warehouse site, he said.
“There’s a chance North Liberty or us might get it,” Montross said of the distribution center.
While Dragomier said Maytag acknowledges a need for a Midwest distribution center, she said Tuesday’s hiring process was strictly for the refrigeration plant.
From press-citizen.com