The US has witnessed a decline in factory jobs, despite promises of a manufacturing renaissance fueled by tariffs. As reported by The Guardian, workers at Whirlpool, the US's largest appliance manufacturer, are criticizing the company for cutting jobs at an Iowa plant while expanding production in Mexico.
The job cuts at Whirlpool's Amana, Iowa plant, which will affect 341 workers starting March 9, come less than a year after 250 jobs were cut in July 2025. According to International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers union (IAM) officials, more cuts are expected later this year. The plant produces refrigerators under the Whirlpool, KitchenAid, Maytag, and Amana brands.
Sandra Freytag, the first shift plant chair who has worked at the plant for 31 years, told The Guardian that Whirlpool began cutting production lines from the plant and moving them to Mexico several years ago. "Now we're seeing that they're making our product in Mexico," said Freytag. She noted that the number of workers at the plant had declined from nearly 3,000 just a few years ago to close to 1,300, and that she believed more cuts were likely.
Trade Policies and Their Impact
During Trump's first term, Whirlpool sought and received tariffs on imported washing machines, calling it a win "for American workers and consumers alike." In 2020, Trump gave a speech at a Whirlpool plant in Ohio, praising the company as a "shining example" of the "buy American and hire American" policies his administration was pursuing. However, according to the conservative Heritage thinktank, the tariffs drove up prices of appliances, costing consumers $1.5bn annually and decreasing demand.
Whirlpool touted Trump's tariffs in 2025 as part of a $300m investment in Ohio and the creation of 400 to 600 jobs. Whirlpool claims 80% of its US sales are produced in the US. "We would either have scaled down, made it later, or hesitated," CEO Marc Bitzer told Fox News in October 2025. "We're strongly supportive of tariff policy and very thankful."
Layoffs and Their Consequences
Sam Cicinelli, the midwest territory general vice-president for IAM, criticized Whirlpool for the layoffs after the company received millions of dollars in subsidies and tax credits in Iowa. He explained that when the union was informed by Whirlpool of the recent job cuts, "the company also warned us that they're going to be making even more cuts that are on the way at the end of the second quarter. This is not a one-time, one-off business decision on their part. It shows it's a deliberate pattern of corporate abandonment."
Kerry Waddell, who worked at the Whirlpool plant in Iowa for 36 years before serving as a business agent for the union, said Whirlpool workers affected by the cuts currently have no severance agreement, lose their health insurance the day they are laid off, and face reduced unemployment benefits as Iowa cut unemployment benefit eligibility in 2022 to 16 weeks. Waddell claimed that employees had been provided with very little information on the cuts and the reasoning behind them.
Workers' Perspectives
Sandy Lorenz, third shift plant chair who has worked at the plant for 33 years, expressed her devastation at the potential loss of her job. "Being there over 30 years, I've grown myself with this company. I've devoted my life to them. I've raised my children there, and just thinking that I might not have a job in a year, it's just devastating," she said. "They could keep these products here, and they could keep these people working, but it just comes down to that they are greedy and want to make a little more money. And that's the bottom line."
The White House did not respond to multiple requests for comment. Whirlpool did not comment on the union's complaints about offshoring to Mexico. The company stated that its recent announcement is part of a multi-year modernization plan that will transform the plant into a dynamic operation, incorporating warehousing, parts production, and sub-assembly work.
Conclusion
Whirlpool's decision to cut jobs at its Iowa plant while expanding production in Mexico has sparked criticism from workers and union officials. Despite the company's support for Trump's tariff policies, the tariffs have not prevented the company from offshoring jobs. As the US continues to lose factory jobs, the impact of trade policies on American workers remains a pressing concern.
