Evansville Whirlpool Plant to Close, 1,100 Hoosier Jobs Sent to Mexico

[rambone]

From an in-house email newsletter at one of the local steel mills. This plant closing represents the loss of a large customer to the local steel industry.

Rebate boost doesn't stop Whirlpool closure


Steel Business Briefing, 9/1/09

Leading American white goods maker Whirlpool will close its plant in
Evansville, Indiana, eliminating about 1,100 full-time jobs in mid-2010
as part of a consolidation move.

The company said the move was made "to reduce excess capacity and
improve costs." Production of freezer-refrigerators made at Evansville
will be transferred to one of the company's existing manufacturing
facilities in Mexico. Production of icemakers will be relocated to a
company-owned site not yet determined.

The move to shutter the US operation comes on the heels of the US
Department of Energy making nearly $300m in federal stimulus funding
available for a state-run rebate program aimed at encouraging the
purchase of more energy-efficient home appliances, including freezers
and refrigerators.

"This was a difficult but necessary decision," said Al Holaday,
Whirlpool VP for North American manufacturing operations. "This will
allow us to streamline our operations, improve our capacity utilization,
reduce product overlap between plants, and meet future production
requirements."