Whirlpool has announced a series of sweeping changes within its North American organization related to the integration of operations with the acquisition of rival appliance manufacturer Maytag.
The moves, aimed at cutting costs and consolidating operations, were announced less than six weeks after Whirlpool completed its acquisition of Maytag, extending its lead as the nation’s biggest appliance producer with brands that include Whirlpool, Maytag, KitchenAid, Jenn-Air and Amana, among others.
“We are taking these actions to rapidly restore the competitiveness of the Maytag brands,” said Whirlpool CEO Jeff Fettig. “This is an important step in our integration process.”
Whirlpool, based here, said that it plans to consolidate laundry washer and dryer production from three Maytag manufacturing sites with Whirlpool laundry factories in Clyde and Marion, OH.
Also slated to close are Maytag’s corporate headquarters and research center in Newton, IA, as well as administrative offices in Schaumburg, IL, Canada and Mexico. Those offices will be consolidated with Whirlpool locations throughout North America.
Whirlpool also announced that it is eliminating about 4,500 positions as a result of the changes. The cuts represent about 5.6% of the company’s current workforce of about 80,000 employees. Whirlpool noted, however, that it will add about 1,500 jobs, reducing the net loss of jobs to 3,000 positions, or 3.8% of its workforce.
Whirlpool said its review of Maytag operations will continue, and that further decisions related to the integration of Maytag will be announced in the future. The company said the consolidation actions are expected to generate pre-tax annualized cost savings in excess of $400 million.
From Kitchen & Bath Design News
