But Whirlpool said it would add about 1,500 jobs at unspecified facilities, reducing the net loss of jobs to 3,000 positions, or 3.8 percent of its work force.
``We are taking these actions to rapidly restore the competitiveness of the Maytag brands,'' Jeff M. Fettig, Whirlpool chairman and chief executive, said in a statement.
The factory in Herrin, which employs about 1,000 people, will continue production until the end of this year, as will the plant in Searcy, which has about 700 workers.
The Newton factory, which employs 1,000 workers, will continue production into 2007, the company said.
David L. Swift, president of Whirlpool North America, said in a statement the Ohio factories are ``two of the most efficient facilities in the world, with capacity to grow.''
Adding jobs at Whirlpool's 3,000-worker plant in Clyde promises to not only help the northwest Ohio town but also nearby Bellevue, which is losing 500 jobs as Allied Air moves its air conditioner plant to North Carolina.
Whirlpool expects to create 594 new jobs at its Marion plant and 553 at the Clyde facility, Gov. Bob Taft said. The state has committed $29.2 million to help Whirlpool in the consolidation, he said.
Whirlpool still has to negotiate the terms of the closings with unions at the Newton and Herrin plants. The Arkansas plant is nonunion.
The 4,500 positions to be cut include 1,800 salaried jobs, but several hundred people at the affected offices will be offered posts at other Whirlpool locations, the company said.
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Whirlpool Layoffs 
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