FORT SMITH, Ark. (AP) — Union workers at the Whirlpool plant in Fort Smith have voted to accept a severance package the company offered workers for when it stops production this summer.
The union says the severance include a lump-sum payment of $6,000 and three' months of insurance coverage to current employees who were on the active payroll as of Oct. 28.
The Southwest Times Record says Local 370 of the United Steelworkers Union had asked for a severance package that included $1,000 for each year employees had worked.
Whirlpool first announced it would move some production from Fort Smith to Mexico in November 2003.
The Fort Smith plant employed about 4,600 in 2006. Current employment is under 1,000, and the company expects to wind down operations by late June.
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