Clyde frets as Whirlpool lays off 250 in downturn

08.11.2008 10:02 Shopping - Source: toledoblade.com

The company announced on Oct. 28 it was moving about 400 jobs to Findlay from a dishwasher factory it was closing in Jackson, Tenn., to save money, growing the Findlay plant to nearly 2,200 employees at a limited production cost.

The Jackson plant closing was part of a plan to eliminate 5,000 positions companywide.

Whirlpool spokesman Lisa Fell said the company's plant in Clyde would be unaffected by the announcement, but on Thursday, the company announced it would furlough 250 employees there.

Then Whirlpool announced that it would lay off about 170

workers in Findlay beginning Monday.

Jill Saletta, a Whirlpool communications director, said yesterday the company's recent cutbacks are its way of dealing with a slow economy, adding that the layoffs in Clyde are temporary and not unique.

"We are hoping to recall all of these folks back as soon as consumer demand goes up and the economy begins to recover, but like any manufacturing company we have to respond," she said.

Whirlpool's washing-machine factory in Clyde is by far the largest employer in Sandusky County.

Sandusky County Auditor Bill Farrell said Whirlpool employees aren't the only ones who might suffer. Layoffs are hard on the schools and local governments that will lose income tax revenue from employees who are out of work.

"The city of Clyde's going to have a big impact," he said. "The biggest impact would be to the Clyde-Green Springs School District. … [Whirlpool] employs right around 3,000 people in Sandusky County. The next-largest employer is probably the county itself at 625 employees."

Clyde City Manager Dan Weaver said the layoffs would hurt city government.

"It's going to obviously reduce the revenue a little bit, but we've been working with Whirlpool here for about 50 years so I think we're pretty in tune with what the company's doing here locally," he said. "This is not outside the realm of their typical operations."

Mr. Weaver noted the company had temporary layoffs several times over the last five years.

"A lot of times, it's volunteer layoffs. It's a cycle that's happened routinely here in Clyde," he said.

Ms. Saletta said because the Clyde plant is Whirlpool's largest worldwide, its closing would be unlikely.

"I absolutely understand the unease," she said. "That's our largest washing machine facility anywhere. They have continued to grow because they are a productive work force."

But with a stagnant economy, Clyde Finance Director Christine May said locals worry about Whirlpool.

"If the Whirlpool plant shut down completely... the city would just about shut down. … That's why we pray every night that nothing happens to Whirlpool."

Contact Chauncey Alcorn at:
calcorn@theblade.com
or 419-724-6168.

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