Bad news out of Amana in April just became better news in June.
Whirlpool Corp., which announced in April it would lay off 651 workers from its Amana factory June 1 — about a third of the total workforce — said Friday, June 27, that the cuts will only affect 250 workers and will be effective July 28.
The steep downward revision comes after the company later in April announced it was putting the layoffs on hold “until later this year.”
The move comes after Whirlpool CEO and Chair Marc Bitzer said in a June 19 interview on Fox News that the appliance maker would be “going big” on its investments in U.S. manufacturing as President Donald Trump’s tariffs on foreign competitors take effect.
“Because right now, very simply, economically, the business case for products made in the U.S. has just become a lot more attractive, and we will invest more,” Bitzer said on Fox News.
In a statement to the Des Moines Register Friday, Whirplool said it “is proud that approximately 80 percent of the products we sell in America are made in America.”
The statement also said Michigan-based Whirlpool looks forward “to announcing investments in our U.S. factories that will enable us to continue to effectively deliver innovative, high-quality home appliances to consumers.” It provided no details about those plans and how they may affect operations in Amana.
Meanwhile, it said, it is committed to supporting the laid-off employees with transition support programs and guidance on unemployment benefits through Iowa Workforce Development
Whirlpool had predicted tariffs would ‘level the playing field’
Whirlpool has $17 billion in annual sales and 44,000 employees worldwide, according to its website. Its stock price rose slightly to $95.79 after the announcement. It remains well below its five-year high of $252.95, reached in May 2021.
When the layoffs were first announced, Whirlpool blamed the job cuts on reduced consumer demand, primarily for refrigeration units, a major product of the Amana plant.
In a news release accompanying a disappointing Whirlpool earnings report in January, Bitzer said the company would look to cut $200 million in costs “and position our business for the eventual U.S. housing recovery.”
In its latest earnings report issued April 23, Whirlpool noted that the “U.S. tariff landscape” since 2020 resulted in Asian producers exploiting tariff loopholes “resulting in significant cost disadvantages for U.S.-made products.”
But it also advised investors to “expect new tariff policies to level the playing field, better supporting American manufacturing.”
Iowa manufacturing could use more good news
A strengthening in the manufacturing sector would be welcome news to the Iowa economy which has experienced the loss of 8,400 jobs, including 5,900 in the durable goods category, during the last 12 months, according to the most recent Iowa Workforce Development unemployment report, issued June 19.
The Amana brand was founded in 1934 by George Foerstner in Middle Amana and was credited with many firsts in the appliance industry, including the first upright freezer in 1947, the first side-by-side refrigerator in 1949 and the first consumer microwave oven, the famous Radarange, in 1967, according to the Amana brand website.
The Amana brand name was sold to Goodman Manufacturing in 1997 and then again to Maytag in 2002. Whirlpool acquired the Amana brand in 2006 through its purchase of then Newton-based Maytag.
Kevin Baskins covers jobs and the economy for the Register. Reach him at kbaskins@registermedia.com.
This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: Whirlpool layoffs at Amana plant reduced
Reporting by Kevin Baskins, Des Moines Register / Des Moines Register
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