Whirlpool Corporation will cut second-shift production at its Middle Amana manufacturing facility effective July 5, a move the company said is the latest step in a broader modernization plan for the plant — and one that the local machinists union says is dismantling the workforce piece by piece.
The shift elimination will affect fewer than 300 employees, a Whirlpool spokesperson said.
The announcement is the third round of significant job reductions at the plant in roughly 14 months. In early April 2025, Whirlpool announced plans to lay off 650 workers at the Middle Amana location, effective June 1 — a cut that would have affected about a third of the 2,000 employees at the plant at 2800 220th Trail in Middle Amana. In June 2025, however, Whirlpool reduced the layoff total to 250 workers, with cuts effective July 28, citing voluntary departures and retirements that occurred between the announcement and the effective date.
Then in February, Whirlpool filed a notice with the Iowa Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act website announcing plans to lay off 341 workers effective March 9, describing it as part of a multi-year transformation of the plant.
Thursday’s announcement of the second-shift elimination fulfills a warning the company issued in February, when it said additional job reductions were anticipated later in the second quarter as it assessed operational needs.
The company said the Amana plant needs to be redesigned and updated ahead of planned refreshes to its two-door and French door refrigerator lines. Whirlpool also said it is incorporating technology improvements and expanding warehousing, parts production and sub-assembly operations at the facility.
“The difficult actions we are taking today are necessary to position the plant for stability and growth,” the company said in a statement. “We understand the impact that the continued evolution of the Amana plant has on our employees and the community, and we are committed to supporting affected employees through this transition.”
The company said it does not anticipate further layoffs at the Amana facility related to the modernization plan.
The union representing workers at the plant has disputed that characterization.
“Our hearts go out to every member and family impacted by Whirlpool’s decision to cut nearly 400 more jobs at its Amana facility,” the union said in a statement Feb. 18. “This is not an isolated incident. It is a pattern of corporate abandonment. Each round of layoffs delivers another devastating blow to a community that has depended on good, union jobs to sustain thousands of Iowa families for generations.”
Sam Cicinelli, IAM’s general vice president of the Midwest territory, said in a Manufacturing Dive article that the cumulative cuts show a pattern and not a “one-time business decision,” and said the job cuts would reduce the workforce to a “skeleton crew” at the plant. The facility once had 3,000 IAM-represented workers; it currently has about 1,300.
Affected employees are covered under the collective bargaining agreement with IAM Local 1526, which includes recall rights. Workers could be called back if positions become available as the facility’s transformation proceeds, Whirlpool said.
The company said it will provide affected employees access to on-site HR support, an employee assistance program and guidance on unemployment benefits through Iowa Workforce Development.
Whirlpool has also said the Amana plant will have some scheduled down days in June and July to align production with consumer demand, with no additional down days anticipated beyond that period.
Beyond the plant-specific modernization, the company cited broader industry headwinds — including a sluggish U.S. housing market, low consumer sentiment and multi-year inflation — as separate pressures on the appliance sector.
Whirlpool said it is “optimistic” that the modernization plan, combined with what it described as a level playing field for U.S. manufacturers, will help unlock growth at the Amana facility by late 2026.
The Amana plant manufactures French door and column refrigerators under the Amana, JennAir, KitchenAid, Maytag and Whirlpool brands. The facility traces its roots to the Amana Manufacturing company, founded in 1934, and changed hands several times before Whirlpool acquired it as part of its Maytag purchase in 2006.
