Electrolux Layoffs: Sweden-Based Appliance Manufacturer To Lay Off Over 1,200 Workers in Major South Carolina Plant Transition
Electrolux will lay off 1,255 employees at its Anderson, South Carolina, plant starting in July, ahead of a six-month retooling phase, marking the state's largest layoff since 2020. A newly approved joint venture with Midea Group will shift the facility's production from refrigerators to laundry appliances, aiming to eventually create 1,200 new jobs.
Sweden-based appliance manufacturer Electrolux will lay off 1,255 employees at its Anderson manufacturing facility beginning in July, according to a Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification (WARN) notice filed with the South Carolina Department of Employment and Workforce (DEW). The reduction marks the largest single-company layoff event in South Carolina since 2020. The workforce reduction precedes a planned six-month operational halt to retool the facility for laundry appliance production as part of a newly approved international joint venture.
Facility Retooling and Employee Severance
The structural changes follow an April announcement of a joint venture between Electrolux and China-based appliance manufacturer Midea Group. The partnership shifts the Anderson site's production focus from refrigeration units to washers and dryers, with operations scheduled to resume in late 2026 or 2027. Electrolux plans to retain approximately 100 workers to manage the plant through the transition period. SentinelOne Layoffs: Cybersecurity Firm to Reduce Global Workforce by 10% Amid Intense Rivalry and Focus on Profitability.
"Twelve-hundred is horrible,” Anderson County Manager Rusty Burns said on Thursday, May 28. "The plant is supposed to be down for six months while they retool. All of the employees will be eligible to be rehired, and that is the situation that we have right now," he added. The company outlined a tiered separation pay schedule in a letter to its workforce. Affected staff with fewer than four years of service will receive four weeks of base pay. Employees with over a decade of tenure will receive one week of pay per year of service, capped at a maximum of 26 weeks. Additionally, workers currently receiving company benefits will receive extended health coverage matching the duration of their severance payouts.
"I know that if they stay there until July, they get a severance package,” Burns noted. “I know that for a fact. And I don't know if that severance package will last for six months, but we have a whole lot of companies that are hiring right now, eager for employees," he added.
Electrolux's Joint Venture and Long-Term Projections
The federal government approved the joint venture in April, establishing a corporate structure where Electrolux maintains a 55 per cent controlling stake and Midea holds the remaining 45 per cent. Local administrative officials assisted Electrolux through the federal merger review hearings as the manufacturer navigated heightened global competition in the consumer appliance market.
While Electrolux did not return requests for immediate comment, the company released a statement to the Anderson Observer in April detailing its long-term regional strategy. According to the company, "the Anderson site will be transformed into a laundry facility, creating 1,200 skilled manufacturing jobs and indirectly creating 1,800 additional jobs in the community, contributing nearly USD 3 billion in economic benefits for the state of South Carolina.” Meta Layoffs Continue AI Push As Mark Zuckerberg Says Competing With AWS and Microsoft Azure Is ‘Definitely on the Table’.
Regional Economic Context
Electrolux has maintained operations in Anderson since 1988 and is widely regarded as a primary cornerstone of the county’s industrial employer base. The upcoming cuts represent the most significant localised workforce displacement since OS Restaurant Services laid off 2,476 workers in South Carolina during the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic. Data from the state DEW indicates a stable long-term outlook for the regional industrial sector despite the immediate displacements. A 2022 agency report projects that manufacturing employment within Anderson County will sustain a growth rate of 0.5 per cent annually through 2032. However, state analysts categorise manufacturing, construction, and agriculture among the slowest-growing expanding sectors within the current ten-year economic forecast.
(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on May 29, 2026 10:52 AM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).