Nearly 400 workers at Whirlpool Corporation’s Amana, Iowa manufacturing facility will lose their jobs on March 9, 2026, following the company’s latest layoff announcement. The International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers (IAM Union), which represents Local 1526 at the plant, criticized the move and described it as part of a broader trend.
“Our hearts go out to every member and family impacted by Whirlpool’s decision to cut nearly 400 more jobs at its Amana facility. 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,” the IAM Union said in a statement.
The union noted that this announcement follows previous layoffs at the same facility less than a year ago, when approximately 250 IAM members lost their jobs. According to the statement: “Whirlpool has already proven it will not stand by its American workforce. Less than a year ago, the company issued pink slips to approximately 250 IAM members at this same facility. Now management is back with more layoffs and a warning that more cuts may be coming.”
IAM Union leaders also highlighted Whirlpool’s recent investments in Mexico, including expansion projects in Ramos Arizpe and Celaya and designating Mexico as the sole producer of its French Door refrigerator line for export mainly to North America. They stated: “At the same time, Whirlpool has been aggressively expanding its manufacturing footprint in Mexico, recently completing a major refrigerator plant expansion in Ramos Arizpe, Coahuila, in 2024, investing $65 million into its Celaya, Guanajuato facility, and designating Mexico as the sole producer of its French Door refrigerator line, a product exported almost entirely back to American and Canadian consumers.”
The union expressed concern about job losses impacting local families while production increases outside the United States: “Iowa County’s largest employer is destroying the very community it claims to support while continuing to build up its operations south of the border.”
They added: “The math is not complicated. When Whirlpool cuts jobs in Amana and expands refrigerator production in Mexico for export back to the United States, working families in Iowa pay the price for decisions made in corporate boardrooms. This is precisely the kind of offshoring that hollows out American manufacturing communities and leaves workers who have given years and decades of their lives to this company. Whirlpool cannot claim to be committed to the United States while it trades American jobs for cheaper labor across the border.”
IAM called on elected officials from Iowa at both local and federal levels to intervene: “We are calling on every local elected official and every member of the Iowa Congressional Delegation to stand up for the working families of Amana and push back against this latest round of layoffs. Our members sent their representatives to fight for them, and this is that moment. Silence in the face of this corporate betrayal is not an option.”
The statement concluded with demands for renewed investment in U.S.-based manufacturing: “The workers of Amana deserve far better than broken promises and a shrinking future. We challenge Whirlpool to demonstrate a real and lasting commitment to the United States. If the company is serious about investing in America, it must bring its manufacturing back home, not continue expanding in Mexico while leaving Iowa families behind.”
IAM said it would work with local leaders and officials “to mobilize the community” as well as connect affected workers with available resources.
Local 1526 members manufacture refrigerators under several brands including Whirlpool itself along with KitchenAid, Maytag, and Amana.
The IAM Union represents around 600,000 active or retired members across various industries throughout North America.
