Some Salaried Maytag Employees See Pink
By Alan Wolf -- TWICE, 10/22/2001
Newton, Iowa — Maytag will trim its white-collar ranks by 225 positions, largely to eliminate job overlaps resulting from the integration of its recently acquired Amana operation.
The cuts, which will affect about 5 percent of the company's 4,600 salaried employees, will be made through the end of year. Of those, 60 jobs will be eliminated from Maytag's major appliance headquarters, here, while 70 positions at Amana will be slashed. The balance of the terminations will take place at company operations around the country.
A Maytag spokesman told TWICE that the layoffs will primarily include secretarial, managerial and manufacturing supervision personnel, rather than executive level staff. He said the restructuring was principally designed to reduce job duplication as Maytag absorbs Amana, although additional staff trims were made to curtail costs.
Hourly production workers were excluded from the downsizing.
The move follows the departure in August of former Amana president Chuck Carroll, who left soon after the completion of the $325 million purchase from Goodman Global Holdings.
The spokesman noted that the "integration processes" are ongoing, and are expected to continue into next year.
Job cuts are also coming at Maytag's Hoover floor care subsidiary. According to the North Canton, Ohio-based unit, 55 salaried staffers representing 4 percent of its white-collar work force will be trimmed by year's end to keep the company competitive, and in response to pressure on Maytag for improved results.
Separately, workers continued a strike at an Amana refrigeration plant in Amana, Iowa, following union negotiations with Maytag and federal mediators. No further talks are planned. The union rejected a three-year contract proposal from Maytag that reportedly includes increases in healthcare costs that aren't offset by pay raises.
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