Spin Cycle

Latest Whirlpool layoffs trigger heated response from machinists' union

Whirlpool, the recognizable home appliance brand, announced February 18 that it will lay off close to 350 workers from its Middle Amana (Iowa) plant next month. The announcement triggered a heated response from a prominent union representing the displaced employees.

In a news release Feb. 18, the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers accused Whirlpool, which makes Whirlpool, Amana, Maytag and KitchenAid refrigerators at the 1,500-worker plant, of displacing American workers in favor of operations in Mexico.

"On behalf of 600,000 active and retired members of the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers (IAM Union), I write to request your urgent assistance in saving more than 350 IAM-represented jobs at Whirlpool Corporation in Amana, Iowa," wrote IAM's international president. "On February 16th, Whirlpool sent a Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification (WARN) Act notice outlining their plan to lay off 350 highly skilled workers at their Amana production facility in March 2026."

"This planned layoff comes on the heels of their 2025 layoff of approximately 250 workers at this location. The company is also signaling their plans to lay off hundreds of additional workers by the end of 2026. If not halted, these combined layoffs will leave more than a thousand working men and women in Iowa out of work with devastating impacts to their families and the regional economy."