BENTON HARBOR, Mich. – Whirlpool is holding several town hall style meetings Tuesday morning in Benton Harbor and St. Joseph, Mich. to announce what it calls “strategic changes.”

In an internal web posting, Whirlpool told employees they are going to streamline operations. The announcement regarding the changes was slated to be announced at 10 a.m. on Tuesday.

Whirlpool has been working with a consulting group the last few months to take a look at redundancy in its operations.

Whirlpool contacted ABC 57 News by e-mail on Tuesday. A spokesperson for the company says that jobs will be affected. There is no word yet on how many jobs will be cut.

The full message reads:

We communicated yesterday to employees regarding organizational changes in our North American Region. The changes are designed to create a more streamlined organization, allowing the company to operate more effectively, and to adapt more quickly, in current and forecasted market conditions. Most of Whirlpool Corporation’s U.S. and Canadian locations were included; however we will not be providing additional details by location. Employees whose jobs were affected were notified yesterday.

Employee meetings will be held today at various Whirlpool locations to discuss the changes and allow employees an open venue to ask questions of Whirlpool leaders.

This is a difficult, but necessary adjustment as we address a volatile marketplace in which demand for major appliances is currently at recessionary levels.

Kristine Vernier, Whirlpool Corporation spokesperson


ABC 57 has crews working the story. We will have the latest on the announcements impacts throughout the day here on ABC 57.com.