Maytag Corp. chairman and CEO Ralph Hake warned shareholders Thursday that expenses at the company’s U.S. plants must come down for the home appliance maker to remain competitive with cheaper imports.
At the company’s annual meeting, Hake said that there are no plans to shift U.S. jobs to Mexico, where Maytag has a new refrigerator plant, but the company has space there to accommodate future growth.
He said Maytag is struggling to compete against cheaper, imported appliances. With labor overseas so much cheaper, he said, having 96 percent of Maytag’s work force still based in the United States is “not an advantage for Maytag.”
He also said that consumers are more concerned about price than where their appliances are made.
“It would be nice if people care where it was made, but they don’t,” he said.
Hake took questions from shareholders, mostly members of the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers. The union represents workers at Maytag’s Amana refrigerator plant, as well as those in Galesburg, Ill., where Maytag will close its refrigerator plant in September.
Union representatives challenged the company’s decision to move many of those manufacturing jobs to a new plant in Reynosa, Mexico.
Maytag also is in the midst of negotiations with the union representing its flagship Newton plants, and cost-cutting has been a central issue. Hake said Thursday the Newton plants need to reduce expenses, but he also reiterated that the company currently has no plans to close more plants and his goal is to keep as many American jobs as possible.
Also Thursday, shareholders approved a proposal to have all members of the board stand for re-election every year. Shareholders have approved a similar plan in each of the past five years, but the board continues to reject it.
Hake said eliminating the provision could enable a third party to orchestrate removal of all sitting directors.
From kentucky.com