Electrolux is set to stop producing refrigerators at its Frimetal plant in Rosario, Argentina, as a result of plummeting local demand and a surge in imports, according to reports from biobiochile.cl.
Internal plans indicate the company will halt the production line for refrigerators starting next May. This decision, which has leaked from within the factory, is currently awaiting official confirmation from the international board of directors.
The move follows a series of production withdrawals by the company since the beginning of the year. Electrolux already abandoned the manufacturing of stoves in January.
Industry and union sources told the Argentine outlet Perfil that the end of the refrigerator line marks the conclusion of local manufacturing for one of the brand's most iconic products.
Massive workforce reductions
The downsizing is directly impacting the local labor market in the historically industrial region of Santa Fe. The reduction in refrigerator activity represents a new wave of layoffs for the facility.
According to sources with knowledge of the sector, the plant's workforce has already undergone a systematic reduction in line with the loss of assembly lines. The factory originally employed 750 people, but that number has already dropped to 250.
Internal projections anticipate the loss will deepen. The company expects to retain only 150 workers, who will be dedicated exclusively to the tasks that remain active at the Santa Fe plant.
The facility will temporarily continue producing only freezers and washing machines, a volume far below its original installed capacity.
For other product lines, the decision is already final. Sources stated that for the rest of the products, the company "simply no longer makes them," confirming a transition from a manufacturing plant toward an assembly or import-based structure, as reported by biobiochile.cl.
