Forum Post: Whirlpool Company
Posted 13 years ago on Oct. 29, 2011, 9:31 a.m. EST by Judyjoyce46
(26)
This content is user submitted and not an official statement
The Whirlpool Company that has been around in the US since 1911 and just not too long ago that received a bailout with our tax paying dollars are laying off 5000 workers and sending jobs overseas to Europe so they can save themselves money to pay their CEO's more money and bonuses that they haven't earned. The average worker worker was being payed $17/hr. while the top dog is making $15 million/yr. They are shutting a plant down in Illinois. The middle class is disappearing. Lets stand up for all those people being shafted by Whirlpool!!!!!
Wait a minute?...loss of sales / demand is forcing 5000 people to be laid off BUT they're building a new corporate headquarters to house the CEO's? Interesting...
Welcome to Globalization, coming soon to a world near you. What do you think Americans have been fighting and dying for all these years since WW II? This is Capitalism. It exploits to survive. We feed off that exploitation with cheap food, cheap clothes, cheap gadgets. It fuels our society and always has. A Middle Class built on labor shortage and manufacturing will not survive here. In the USA, states compete for factories with the same incentives - low or no taxes, non-union workforce, and no environmental restrictions. Then we go out and protest ;-) What we need here is a game change. If we keep screaming "Free Market" much longer, there won't be anyone left to scream. Time to get busy, my friends! Solidarity.
One thing is suprise me the airline never ask for builout in 2008? I remember we used builout them out alot
THIS IS FOR EARNYOUROWN!!!!!!! Obviously you act like a fifth grader. Lol lol. You are obviously an Archie Bunker bigot. Lol. God will deal with you. Or maybe the devil. Maybe you are the devil who knows? If white people are so smart then why are they bringing down America because of their greediness? White people have their own problems so you need to focus on that and leave black people alone. Obviously you have never been outside of this country. I have. You need to open your mind instead of your ignorant mouth and you just might learn something. Lol. By the way Africans have the highest grade point averages in college than any other race. Through with your ignorance!! Not reading anything else you write and not responding to any more of your ignorant garbage!! Good riddance and good luck when you close your eyes for good. You will need it!!! LMAO!!
Yup, Europeans are desperate for work and eastern Europeans will work for less than the minimum wage. It's no surprise that U.S. corporations are moving operations over here.
Where do you live?
I live in Ireland. We have our own problems with greedy corporations. They import workers from Poland instead of hiring Irish people because they know the Polish will work hard regardless of how they're treated or what they're paid. They're kinda like Europe's Latinos. Even the Irish government is guilty of it. When they were modernizing Ireland's infrastructure they actually awarded contracts to a Turkish construction company who brought their own Turkish workers over to Ireland. The company actually withheld some of the worker's pay and one of our Socialist TDs (Irish congressman) had to fight for the workers to get their full pay.
Yes and those are the same people who run these corporations and call themselves PATRIOTIC. Funny.
BOTH my parents worked for Whirlpool...my father from 1948-1993 and my mother prior to my birth in 1964. I STILL remember in the early 1980's when they closed the St. Joe Michigan plant (and later tore it down), he was transfered to the Benton Harbor plant and was just MISERABLE his last 10 years...EVERY year wondering if their contract would be renewed and not knowing if he would make it to his retirement...he was a lucky one. This used to be a thriving area and now its not. I moved away to go to college in 1983 and never went back knowing there was no future there for me...SAD...
But I'm glad your dad got to retire. Good for him.
Yes it is very sad and I'm so sorry your family had to go through that. The US isn't like it used to be and obviously corporations dont care about their people just the bottom dollar. Some people on this site dont seem to understand though especially EARNYOUROWN. He is totally clueless. I dont understand some people on here. Even most people overseas understand better than some people of these people in America. It's even hard to make it even when you have a degree which is totally ridiculous.
America has forgotten its a global competition for jobs with plant's being the source of jobs. We are competing against Nations that provide free land, free construction, free plant equipment, free Research & Development for 5 years+, Free utilities for 3 years, Tax free for 5-10-15 years, Free plant labor for 5 years+. These jobs were not sent overseas, they were were bought with free kickbacks/bribes/incentives. This is what conservatives call "Free market dynamics". All those free incentives go straight to the 1% in the form of stock values, dividends, executive pay. America's choice is to compete tit-for-tat or establish a system of fines and/or penalties to remove the incentive free for all.
"Chinese immigrants of the late 1800s began to operate laundries in communities all over the United States and Canada. For over 50 years, it was one of the most common occupations available to them. Their enterprise led to various unsuccessful attempts of whites to limit the dominance of Chinese laundries. Eventually, it was the arrival of home washers and dryers in the 1950s and the better career opportunities for their children, that the Chinese laundry went the way of the horseless carriage."
http://jrjung.tripod.com/chineselaundry/chinlaund.htm
And the Chinese were not slaves working for free. This nation was built on the blood sweat and tears of black slaves. Literally.
And black men did the first open heart surgery and created the stoplight, the hot comb and opened up many black owned businesses like my own grandmother did. And?
This is got Fedup10. No the reason is because Whirlpool wants to cut wages and healthcare from people here and pay them less in Europe so they can save themselves money to give to the top dogs and earn more from Wallstreet. They already get enough tax breaks like most other big companies and they dont create more jobs they just keep cutting them even after the $19 million dollars in stimulus money they received not too long ago.
And this is for Earn your own ... If they kept jobs in America then people could work to make enough money to buy a Whirlpool washing machine. Get it...earn money then buy? Everything costs money so therefore you have to have a job to earn money. But if the jobs are being sent overseas then there are not enough decent jobs for people to make money to buy washing machines. Its pretty simple to understand.
Please everyone this is regarding what I wrote earlier about Whirlpool sending jobs overseas. In order to understand better whats going on with Whirlpool please lookat video on MSNBC on THE ED SHOW. He tells what is really going on. I wanted to add the video with my message but I couldn't do please look on your own and respond.
do the Chinese want washing machines ?
Dont know dont care. Has nothing to do about them sending our jobs overseas because the company is being greedy. They could have kept that company here.
the chinese could have built a washing machine company in China
Not much value without the retail sales channel, the brand, and the distribution channels.
The Chinese, the Europeans, and every other country wants the washing machines and all he jobs it creates. In this case this plant is heading for Europe. This has been going on for over 40 years. Just look at Detroit, Cleveland, and any town with a closed plant. That's 48 thousand in the last 10years and 58 million empty plants total over the last 40 years.
automation greatly reduces the need for human work
The cost to upgrade for automatons sake is less than the cost of transport back to the US. The big savings are in the Free incentives to locate the plant overseas. Free land, free construction, free R&D, free utilities, no taxes for 5-10-15 years and free labor for first 3 years. When they close the plant here, they get a full tax deduction for the remaining cost of the plant. When the company takes this proposal to their board its not even a choice. If they don't they are fired. The really bad part is that there are no regulations or policies to stop this. For the US to compete on this we would need to remove all taxes on corporations and write them a blank check to build with public funds (not a likely scenario). (Sounds to much like Communism, oh yeah its china)
machines are more efficient than the need for human labor available
I did not notice anything that said they were going to eliminate human labor. They are closing the plant. They could be using the same number or more people to run the plant. The true advantage is the free everything and No taxes (ever). Everything and I mean everything comes down to the bottom dollar. No company has moved offshore for automation since the new foundry technology in the 1980's.
Jeff Immelt and GE got $126 MILLION stimulus dollars despite making over $6 BILLION profit and paying ZERO TAXES at the same time. BaROKE Obumbler's $852 STIMULUS bill to create JOBS and start SHOVEL READY PROJECTS turns out to be a SLUSH FUND FOR CAMPAIGN CONTRIBUTORS LIKE SOLYNDRA, GE, JEFF DOERR and STEVE WESTLY, other DONORS, fictitious zip codes,etc.. Obumbler blew $852 BILLION, NOW HE WANTS $450 BILLION MORE---SHOW US THE MONEY, WHAT DID YOU DO WITH THE $852 BILLION?? Criminals always return to scene of the crime, Obumbler's BACK TO STEAL MORE MONEY FROM TAXPAYERS! Millions went to foreign banks, $529 MILLION went to Finland to build hybrid cars, MILLIONS went to Hezbollah, MILLIONS TO CRONIES. The same type of CRONIES are on his JOBS BOARD! All we'll get from them is more LIES, DECEIT, FRAUD!
So does that mean if demand goes back up they would ship the jobs back here to the US? If the CEO' weren't so greedy I'm pretty sure they could have kept that plant open. I'm tired of hearing the rich people excuses. They need to have a cap on how much a CEO can make in this country...maybe like $2 million/yr. then maybe some of their priorities would straighten out.
Other factors, though, are that demand is down, largely because new home construction is way down. Every organization needs to adjust to demand. Much of the European production is to supply the European market. Many Whirlpool workers feel that this is a good employer. Early this year they announced that their plans for new corporate headquarters buildings would remain in Benton Harbor, MI. This is evidence of committment to the United States. It is true, however that CEO's could and should take lower salaries and bonuses.
Other factors, though, are that demand is down, largely because new home construction is way down. Every organization needs to adjust to demand. Much of the European production is to supply the European market. Many Whirlpool workers feel that this is a good employer. Early this year they announced that their plans for new corporate headquarters buildings would remain in Benton Harbor, MI. This is evidence of committment to the United States. It is true, however that CEO's could and should take lower salaries and bonuses.
This unfairness is empowered by unconstitutional government. There is only one way to deal with that. Article 5.
BANNED FROM FACEBOOK!!! Im having a problem logging onto Facebook. Seems odd that Facebook was used as a crucial tool in the middle east to organize people to stand up for their rights and overthrow their
dictators. Funny how now that protestors are gathering at Wall Street and around the world to demand Justice for plummitting the world economy into chaos that many people are having
trouble logging on to facebook...this same senario happened in Iran when people starting organizing against their government. Seems to me that Facebook has been taken over by the.01% to
prevent the 99% from organizing. The 99% must organize before Occupy Wall street becomes a faded memory... organize your groups around the world...elect leaders to stand together
world wide. DO NOT GIVE IN!!!... DO NOT GIVE UP!! It is time to take our countries back from the greedy and corrupt. For those of you who still have access to Facebook it is your
duty to spread the word.
Please post this on your facebook profile and forward this email.
We_Are_The_99_Percent@planet.com
They make a great product but they are competing with appliances all being made in china and other low cost labor countries. Welcome to the global economy. Tell washington to provide big tax incentives to manufacture here in the USA and remove unneccessary costs that make places like china so economically beneficial.
No the reason is because Whirlpool wants to cut wages and healthcare from their workers here so they can pay the workers less in Europe so the top dogs can keep more money in their pockets and earn more from Wallstreet. They already get enough tax breaks like most big companies and they dont create more jobs they just keep cutting them even after the $19 million dollars in stimulus money they received not too long ago.
The US has the highest corporate tax rates in the world, so it only makes sense unfortunately for them to make their profits in overseas low tax jurisdictions.