More job cuts confirmed at Whirlpool’s Fort Smith plant

Whirlpool officials have partially confirmed reports that the company’s Fort Smith plant will cut up to 300 jobs beginning in September, but officials are not commenting on a potential temporary shutdown of the plant.

A reliable source told The City Wire that Whirlpool’s Fort Smith employees were told between 40 and 50 salaried jobs and up to 250 hourly jobs would be cut in September, with the salaried workers potentially eligible for a severance package that equals a year of salary and benefits.

Whirlpool employs about 1,350 at the plant, with about 150 of those being salaried (management) positions.

Jill Saletta, director of external communications for Whirlpool, issued the following statement when asked about the possible cuts.

“The Fort Smith Division yesterday announced that approximately 40 - 50 salaried positions will be eliminated in order to better align with production levels.  We will offer severance and a variety of support services including outplacement service to those whose jobs will be eliminated, however we will not be sharing specific details regarding severance.  We expect to notify those whose positions will be eliminated by the end of August.

“Yesterday's announcement affects salaried positions only, however, we anticipate there will be an hourly layoff that will coincide with an anticipated schedule change in September, although no estimate of the number affected has been made yet.

“As we have said previously, the company continues to evaluate all options and will take all necessary steps to help ensure that it remains competitive in what remains a very dynamic marketplace.”

Messages left at the local office of the union representing Whirlpool employees were not returned.

The source who provided details on the job cuts also said Whirlpool’s Fort Smith employees were told the plant faces a temporary shutdown if refrigerator production falls below certain levels. There are concerns Whirlpool could soon lose a contract with Sears to provide Kenmore-branded refrigerators.

“Regarding the suggestion of plant shut down or volume — we won't comment on rumor and speculation,” Saletta noted in her response.

The downturn in product sales is noted by the company as a key reason Whirlpool has reduced employment at its Fort Smith plant from about 4,500 in early 2006 to about 1,350 today. Whirlpool Chairman and CEO noted in the company’s recent earnings report that consumer demand continues to fall.

“Consumer demand for appliances was significantly lower in the second quarter, which negatively impacted our global unit volumes,” Fettig noted in the earnings statement. “Late last year, we took actions to restructure our business, aligning our capacity and resources to lower demand levels. Our results reflect these actions, and we will continue to execute our plans to address this volatile global economic environment.”

Part of those restructuring actions Fettig noted included 700 Whirlpool job cuts in Fort Smith that were effective Nov. 14, 2008.

If there is any good news in all of this, it’s that the source also told The City Wire that Whirlpool has decided to continue producing its Olympus refrigerator line in Fort Smith and has decided to move some new model production to Fort Smith. The new model production could begin as early as January, according to the source.