Posted on 12/12/2005 1:22:19 PM PST by ncountylee
BENTON HARBOR, Mich., Dec. 12 (UPI) -- Whirlpool Corp. said Monday it would dismiss about 730 workers at an Arkansas plant once a replacement factory in Mexico is operational.
The Michigan-based company recently built a refrigerator plant in Ramos Arizpe, Mexico, to produce side-by-side refrigerator-freezer models, beginning in 2006. The Mexican plant will employ 1,000 workers.
Once the Ramos Arizpe facility is operational, about 730 employees at Whirlpool's Fort Smith, Ark., plant will be part of a layoff, currently planned for October 2006. Some models now made in Fort Smith will be shifted to the new Mexican plant, Whirlpool said.
"Whirlpool currently anticipates that the vast majority of the layoffs will be voluntary and many of those employees would be recalled within 18 months, as part of the normal attrition rate at the Fort Smith facility," said a statement by the company, which is buying Iowa-based Maytag Corp.
Whoops. Almost spit my coffee all over the keyboard when I read that one. You're being sarcastic, of course. Aren't you?
No Pain No Gain.
If Govt. decides who corporations employ, then one day all of us would be slaughtered by Govt.
What is it that they say about Absolute Power?
Keep your eyes on THE BIG BOARD.
I dunno, you tell me. Is government creating 3.5 - 4% GDP?
And what skills would those be? Just curious.
What doesn't kill you makes you stronger.
Looking at it another way what doesn't kill you just prolonges the inevitable.
Hundreds of thousands of Americans who would now by cheaper-Whirlpool product, would save millions, and that money can be spent on higher quality of life, or making investments, which by its nature creates more opportunities including jobs.
You overlook one thing. Those Whirlpool products will now be cheaper - for Whirlpool. That does not mean that the costs will be automatically passed on to consumers. What incentive is there for them to do so? Buying Maytag will give them roughly 75 to 80 percent of the large appliance market. What competition is left for them to fear?
Agreed... and sometimes crap runs uphill. You lose your customer base because nobody can afford to buy anything. Kind of stuff rich folks jumping off of window ledges is made of. History does repeat itself.
"Conversely if tariffs were higher they might not want to leave!"
Yeah, they would probably decide to shut down operations completely at some point. The same jobs would be lost, and the supply of washing machines would decrease. Higher prices and fewer jobs . . . well, if that's your idea of a good economy, thank God you're not doing anything important.
So the 730 Whirlpool workers will need about 2190 of those new jobs to replace their income from their old jobs.
Unions fault, wanting money for labor. When will they learn.
Yes it does.
DVD players that cost hundreds of dollars only couple of years ago are now dirt cheap.
I even saw one for less than 50 at COSTCO.
Why is WALMART succeeding? They drive the cost down. Real Savings. Keeps infation in check, which help entire economy.
As far as skills, higher education is the key.
When I lived in NJ, I saw that the school districts there and in NY were hiring Romanian, Hungarians, Poles etc, who could barely speak English, as teachers because of the teacher shortage.
If those guys can do it, then so can these guys.
Opportunities are there. All you have to do is apply yourself.
I bet you they would make more money as teachers as they would working for Whirlpool.
Yeah we will update our skills for the coming century. Ya all grab your burger flippers now!!!
Absolutely not! More Americans are employed today than at any time in history. And we produce more stuff (we are wealthier) than any other time in history.
"Here is your thread to tell us how much you despise unions, how Americans should accept slave wages."
No, I'll let you tell us why we should be forced to buy overpriced low quality items produced by union labor.
I was referring to the 20,000 higher paying jobs per month. Where are those coming from?
Why is Walmart succeeding? Simple they are taking advantage of cheap ChiCom labor. They are not passing their profits onto their employees in any reasonable measure. But that ok the tax-payer will help their employees make ends meet at the doctors office and in education. A country is judged by the strength of it's middle class. Right now ours is under assault from every direction. It's a long fall from ivory towers.
"No, I'll let you tell us why we should be forced to buy overpriced low quality items produced by union labor."
Because every American has a God-given right to receive an above-average wage?
(BTW, that is sarcasm.)
"They are not passing their profits onto their employees in any reasonable measure."
From each according to their ability, to each according to their need!
Maytag guys just sit around waiting for one to break down. Sounds like a better place to work to me?
These Union workers you speak of contribute to their economies both locally and on a national level. Tell me what the ChiComs are doing for you.
Part of that is maturing technology and a lot of it is competition. When Whirlpool finishes acquiring Maytag then it will control a huge part of the market. Little incentive in reducing costs. Look at Microsoft. With all their outsourcing to less expensive technical workers the cost of their product hasn't gone down at all. On the contrary, products like Visio which cost 20 or 30 dollars before being acquired by Microsoft now cost many times that.
As far as skills, higher education is the key.
I suppose all these former factory workers should hie themselves down to the local Junior College and become computer programmers?
Sure. The easiest way to do it is for Whirlpool to charge 5,000 dollars for a new microwave.
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