Five assembly lines with multiple shifts operated at Whirlpool’s manufacturing plant in Amana just five years ago, a union official said during a news conference today.
By this summer, the plant will operate one assembly line with one shift of workers, said Kerry Waddell, an assisting business representative for District 6 of the International Association of Machinists & Aerospace Workers.
“What we’ve seen is a systematic disassembly of the entire plant,” Waddell said. While assembly lines at the Amana plant have been shut down “we’ve seen the Mexico facility grow and produce units that we used to make and sell to the United States consumer.”
Earlier this month, Whirlpool announced it would lay off 341 workers from its plant in Amana. The layoffs, which will occur March 9, are part of Whirlpool’s long-term plan to modernize the factory, the company said. Additional jobs are expected to be eliminated in the second quarter of 2026, the company has said. Whirlpool has said that none of the laid off workers are expected to be rehired.
Currently, between 1,200 and 1,300 people work at the Amana facility, which five years ago employed over 3,300 workers, Waddell said. The March 9 and second-quarter layoffs will leave between 500 and 600 people working at the plant, he said.
The company laid off 250 workers at the plant last summer.
Many of those who will lose their jobs in the latest round of layoffs have worked at the plant for seven to eight years, union officials said. Waddell said that Whirlpool is not offering a severance package to laid off workers, who will also immediately lose health insurance.
A Whirlpool spokesperson, in an email, wrote that the “Whirlpool Corporation will follow all applicable laws and the terms of the collective bargaining agreement between the company and the union” regarding severance and health care benefits.
The spokesperson wrote that “the jobs affected by last week’s announcement are not being [moved] from Amana to Mexico.” The spokesperson wrote that the Amana factory would continue to produce two-door bottom-mount and French door refrigerators.
In 2023, Whirlpool announced it was investing over $160 million to expand its plant in Ramos Arizpe, Coahuila, Mexico. The facility makes an estimated 300,000 refrigerators annually. Whirlpool has five manufacturing plants in Mexico.
The Amana plant, which manufactures refrigerators, was built in 1940.
The Whirlpool spokesperson repeated a previous statement that the Amana facility “is a vital part of the company’s U.S. manufacturing footprint.”
“Our recent announcement is part of a multi-year modernization plan that will transform the [Amana] plant into a dynamic operation that will continue to produce best-in-class refrigerators, while also incorporating warehousing, parts production and sub-assembly work. This transformation is necessary to position the Amana plant for continued stability and success.”
Union officials today said that they expect the only investments Whirlpool will make at the Amana plant is in warehousing.
“Basically, they are just going to store products at the facility,” said Loren Almeroth, legislative and political assistant director for the union. “There probably will be some kitting of parts, which is putting a group of parts together and sending them to other facilities to aid other assembly lines.”
Almeroth said union officials have reached out to Iowa’s congressional delegation as well as state elected officials, seeking their help in stopping the pending layoffs.
Whirlpool, headquartered in Benton Harbor, Mich., describes itself as the “only major U.S.-based manufacturer of kitchen and appliances.” Its brand portfolio includes Whirlpool, KitchenAid, JennAir, Maytag, Amana, Brastemp, Consul and InSinkErator.
