Whirlpool will consolidate production at two U.S. and Mexican factories.
The world’s largest appliance maker said it is shutting plants in Oxford, Mississippi, and Puebla, Mexico. Production of built-in ovens and cooktops at the Mississippi facility will be transferred to a factory in Cleveland, Tenn., and manufacturing operations in Puebla, which produces semi-automatic washers, will be moved to a plant in Celaya, Mexico.
Whirlpool said research conducted as part of the company’s global operating strategy indicated that consolidating manufacturing into the Cleveland facility “will better leverage the scale and size of that operation.” The same research showed that moving washer production to Celaya would “better leverage existing resources and provide greater efficiencies.”
“These kinds of decisions are never easy, and we make them only after comprehensive evaluation of alternatives,” said Al Holaday, manufacturing operations VP for the North American region. “This consolidation, like other changes we’ve made as part of our global operating platform, will help ensure that Whirlpool maintains its leadership position in today’s changing global marketplace.”
