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Thank you for stopping by the website. We are currently under construction, so please excuse the mess. In this future, this site will be a place to find local & national news stories that may directly impact your small business! This portion of the website is expected to be completed September 1st.

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10.19

» Whirlpool: Recall of 150 workers possible

A few laid off Whirlpool workers and, indirectly, the area economy may have a financially brighter holiday season. Whirlpool Corp. confirmed Friday the possible recall of up to 150 workers to support increased refrigerator production planned at its Fort Smith plant for at least the remainder of 2009. Sources have told The City Wire that up to 200 could be recalled, and that seven previously scheduled plant shutdown days around the Thanksgiving and Christmas holidays are now scheduled for production. Also, the sources said production is planned for seven Saturdays between Oct. 31 and Dec. 19. The only catch to the Whirlpool production increase is the ability of vendors to supply parts for the extra work. Suppliers to Whirlpool are not always able to bring back employees and ramp up production as fast as Whirlpool can generate the demand for parts.

Click to read more via The City Wire

Link posted at 9:32 AM (2 years ago) | Permalink

Tags: Arkansas, Business, Business News, Economy, Fort Smith, Ft. Smith, Jobs, Local, News, Small Business, Unemployment, Whirlpool, Manufacturing, Factory,


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08.02

Whirlpool to slash 300 jobs

Whirlpool Corp. plans to cut as many as 50 salaried jobs by late August and about another 250 hourly positions in September at its Fort Smith plant. The factory manufactures side-by-side refrigerators and icemakers.

Company officials announced Thursday between 40 and 50 salaried jobs would be eliminated, Jill Saletta, Whirlpool spokeswoman, stated in an e-mail. Whirlpool will offer severance benefits and support service, including outplacement service to those employees.

“Yesterday’s announcement affects salaried positions only; however, we anticipate there will be an hourly layoff that will coincide with an anticipated schedule change in September, although no estimate of the number affected has been made yet,” she stated.

Read the full story via: Times Record

Posted at 10:26 AM (2 years ago) | Permalink

Tags: Fort Smith, Ft. Smith, Arkansas, Jobs, Jobless, Employment, Unemployment, Whirlpool, Whirlpool Corp., Job Cuts, Economy,


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07.27

“ Questions continue about the possibility of Whirlpool Corp. losing its contract to manufacture refrigerators for Sears, with Whirlpool officials continuing to manufacture vague answers to the questions. In February, Whirlpool employees told The City Wire they were told the Sears contract was in jeopardy. During a Feb. 12 series of meetings at Whirlpool’s Fort Smith plant, Whirlpool managers, including plant chief Ken Thompson, told Fort Smith employees that 2009 marks the last year of the refrigerator contract with Sears. Whirlpool spokesman Jill Saletta said in February that Whirlpool would continue to produce products for Sears but refused to say if that would include refrigerators. Whirlpool makes several products for Sears in addition to refrigerators. Now comes David MacGregor, a research analyst at Independence, Ohio-based Longbow Research, who asked Whirlpool officials during a July 22 second-quarter earnings conference call about the Sears contract. “I wonder if I could just get you to address a point that you didn’t cover in the call, and that is the Sears relationship and what happens with Kenmore in 2010? That’s probably the issue on most investor’s minds these days and just wondering if you could give us some sense of magnitude with respect to earnings and revenue impact,” MacGregor asked in this transcript from Seeking Alpha. Michael Todman, the president of Whirlpool-North America, said the “relationship with Sears is strong” but that the company does not have a contract in place for 2010. „
Questions linger about Whirlpool, Sears relationship - The City Wire

Quote posted at 9:23 AM (2 years ago) | Permalink

Tags: Whirlpool, Fort Smith, Ft. Smith, Arkansas, Jobs, Sears,


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