Whirlpool to close U.S. plant

Whirlpool, the Benton Harbor, Mich., appliance manufacturer, has announced its plans to close a manufacturing facility in Evansville, Ind. Production of top freezer refrigerators made at Evansville will be transferred to one of the company's existing manufacturing facilities in Mexico. Production of icemakers made at the facility will be relocated to a company-owned site yet to be determined.

The closure will eliminate approximately 1,100 full-time positions in mid-2010. The company's decision followed a comprehensive review of alternatives for product consolidation within the refrigeration product category, it said.

"This was a difficult but necessary decision," said Al Holaday, VP North American manufacturing operations, in a prepared statement. "To reduce excess capacity and improve costs, the decision was made to consolidate production within our existing North American manufacturing facilities. This will allow us to streamline our operations, improve our capacity utilization, reduce product overlap between plants and meet future production requirements."

Whirlpool operates 67 manufacturing and technology research centers around the world, making home appliances under the Whirlpool, Maytag, KitchenAid, Jenn-Air, Amana and other brand names. Sales in 2008 were approximately $19 billion.