Workers are too cheap for companies, they close, compensate you, and you stay at home. They argued their decision based on falling sales and the indiscriminate opening of imports, both a product of the economic policies of the far-right government of Javier Milei. By Indymedia Workers. The news was broken by the plant director, who gathered all workers—around 250 people—in the company cafeteria and informed them of the immediate closure of the plant. The information was confirmed to the radio program 'Materia Prima' on the local station FM Plaza 92.1 by Ignacio Cabezas, a Whirlpool worker. "There are young people, people with families, pregnant women," he emphasized. The Whirlpool plant where the multinational invested $52 million for local production. Meanwhile, Ezequiel Fanizza, secretary of organization of the UOM San Miguel, confirmed that after a meeting with company executives, "the situation has no turning back." "The company tells us that due to the national situation with imports, they are forced to close the plant," he said. "We were expecting a suspension," the worker noted, to add that "until yesterday we were producing." "They are going to dedicate themselves to importing and selling," he specified, in statements to the portal Pilar a Diario. Regarding the situation of the workers, Fanizza assured that "we have initially asked that jobs be maintained or that the maximum number be saved by doing different tasks, our workers are trained to do so." However, to this request, Whirlpool was blunt: "they told us no, that only the commercial part will remain and the only thing they will have is a warehouse and some metalworking repair task." Expressing disagreement with the company's actions, Fanizza questioned that "they started producing in 2022 and at the first sign that things are not going well, they shut down." Workers from the company that just closed its production. The factory, located in the Pilar Industrial Park and inaugurated in October 2022, informed its employees of the news without prior notice this Wednesday. "They are not looking for an alternative to preserve jobs, such as suspensions or advancing vacations," he expressed, to add that "they leave workers in the street waiting for a labor reform to flexibilize" new hiring. "They are closing completely." Shortly after the company made the announcement, representatives of the Union of Metalworkers (UOM), the union that brings together Whirlpool workers, arrived at the scene. "Allowing Argentina to be a pass-through for imported products is something we cannot permit," he reflected. In this scenario, negotiations now aim for the 220 laid-off workers to obtain the best possible compensation, on time and in full. Source: https://argentina.indymedia.org/2025/11/27/whirlpool-anuncio-de-forma-sorpresiva-el-cierre-de-su-planta-en-pilar-y-despidio-a-todos-sus-trabajadores/ "They gave us no prior notice, they just fired all of us from the company, including administrative and human resources staff." "The union is also surprised by the news," Cabezas stated. Regarding the arguments put forth by the executives, "they told us that sales dropped sharply and that the brand is no longer competitive in the market," a situation linked to the entry of imports. And he attributed the ease with which companies decide to close their doors and lay off personnel to the political context. "Today it is very easy for companies to close." He also added that "they had advanced our vacations to December 22nd," and nothing suggested such a categorical measure. In this sense, he specified that a 7-kilogram Whirlpool washing machine costs between 800 and 1 million pesos, when "a Chinese brand can be obtained for half the price." Although this situation led to a drop in production, considering that "we were producing between 500 and 600 washing machines per day and now we were at 400," and consequently "two weeks ago they laid off temporary workers," there were no suspicions about a total factory closure.
