GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. “” Vic Ritter is disappointed and angry about Whirlpool’s decision to close the Maytag washing machine plant in Herrin, Ill., where he’s the mayor.
But Ritter said yesterday he is hoping that Whirlpool will have a change of heart and decide to continue operating at least part of the factory.
About 1,000 people work at the plant, which is in rural southern Illinois about 90 miles from St. Louis.
About 40 percent of the employees live in Herrin, a city of 11,000 residents that “deserved more consideration” from Whirlpool, Ritter said.
The company announced the plant closing yesterday as part of a streamlining effort related to its purchase of Maytag.
Whirlpool said it will eliminate 4,500 jobs by closing three plants — including the one in Herrin, plus others in Iowa and Arkansas — and consolidating corporate offices and other sites.
The cuts represent about 5.6 percent of Whirlpool’s work force of 80,000 employees.
But Whirlpool said it will add about 1,500 jobs, many at two Ohio plants, reducing the net loss of jobs to 3,000, or 3.8 percent of its work force. Plants in Clyde and Marion, Ohio, will absorb the production from washer and dryer plants in Newton, Iowa, and Searcy, Ark.
David L. Swift, president of Whirlpool North America, said the Ohio factories are “two of the most efficient facilities in the world, with capacity to grow.”
He said the decision was difficult, but necessary to improve efficiency.
Also slated to close are Maytag’s corporate headquarters and research center in Newton, Iowa, as well as administrative offices in Schaumburg, Ill., Canada and Mexico.
Iowa Gov. Tom Vilsack said, “The loss of jobs in this community will not be easy to swallow, which is why we must begin acting right now to support this community and its workers during their difficult transition period.”
The moves come less than six weeks after Whirlpool, of Benton Harbor, Mich., completed its acquisition of Maytag, extending its lead as the nation’s biggest appliance maker over General Electric’s Louisville-based Consumer and Industrial division.
The factory in Herrin, Ill., will continue production until the end of this year, as will the plant in Searcy, Ark., which has about 700 workers.
The Newton, Iowa, factory, which employs 1,000 workers, will continue production into 2007, the company said.
Whirlpool still has to negotiate the terms of the closings with unions at the Newton, Iowa, and Herrin, Ill., plants. The Arkansas plant is nonunion.
From Courier Journal