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Appliance manufacturer Whirlpool has announced
that it will lay off 651 workers from its plant
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in Amana, Iowa.
The company said that the layoffs,
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effective June 1st, are necessary adjustments
to production in response to consumer demand
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for the specific products being manufactured in
Amana.
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These include French door and column
refrigerators.
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Well, the company has said that tariffs are not
a factor in this move,
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the decision.
Nonetheless, triggered a political backlash of
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a different kind.
Reports have noted that the job loss
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announcement came after Iowa state legislators
voted in 2022 to reduce the duration of
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unemployment benefits that are available to
workers affected by layoffs and closings.
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Once 26 weeks, unemployment claims now max out
at 16 weeks,
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and recent efforts to restore the former
duration.
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Have fizzled.
The manufacturing sector in Iowa was the
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industry that saw the most layoffs in the past
year, with 7600 job reductions.
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A Newsweek report cited worries over the
dangerous gap in the state’s economic safety
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net.
Iowa Federation of Labor AFL-CIO president
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Charlie Wishman called Whirlpool’s cuts
outrageous.
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For a company that made $17 billion last year,
and he didn’t hesitate to implicate the Iowa
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governor and state legislature, saying the
group continues to let rural Iowa die.
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Amana, Iowa has a population of just 400 people.
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The layoffs are said to be the biggest
announced in Iowa so far this year.
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Aymana Wells, this is manufacturing now.