Whirlpool Corp, the largest manufacturer of domestic appliances is, about to trim its workforce in Europe and North America by about 10 percent - resulting in a loss of some 5000 jobs - in view of the falling demand due to the current recessionary trends and the rising costs of raw materials like copper and steel.
To compensate for the slide in the sales in the North American market, Whirlpool has been looking up to the markets in emerging economies. But the recessionary impact seems to be more or less a worldwide phenomenon variable only in its intensity.
Whirlpool has also been trying to raise the cost of its products to offset the rising cost of production but has been limited by the pricing strategies of its competitors in the process.
Most of the proposed job cuts are in North America and Europe. The company's plant at Fortsmith, Arkansas, is going to be closed down as a part of the exercise. Closing the plant at Fortsmith will result in loss of employment to about 90 salaried personnel and about 900 workers paid on an hourly basis; another 800 workers have been on a layoff and are on a recall list. The dishwasher plant in Neunkirchen, Germany, will be relocated to Poland in January next year. These measures are expected to save about $400 million by the end of 2013.
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