Whirlpool Corp. will lay off 341 workers from its plant in Amana on March 9, a move that is part of the company’s long-term plan to modernize the plant, the company said.

Additional jobs will likely be eliminated in the second quarter, a company spokesperson said.

The Amana plant, which manufactures refrigerators, was built in 1940. The company laid off 250 workers at the plant last summer. Between 1,500 and 1,700 people currently work at the plant.

“Recent changes at the plant have phased out older, outdated refrigeration production,” a spokesperson wrote in an email. “Over the next few years, Whirlpool Corporation will invest in the facility to expand operations and upgrade the types of products produced in the facility.”

The likelihood that the laid-off employees will be recalled “is low,” the spokesperson wrote.

Information was not made available about the amount of money that will be invested to expand production at the Amana facility. A timeline was also not provided.

In a statement, Whirlpool said that the modernization of the Amana facility “will transform the plant into a dynamic operation that will continue to produce best-in-class refrigerators, while also incorporating warehousing, parts production and sub-assembly work.”

“This transformation is necessary to position the Amana plant for continued stability and success.”

The plant will continue to manufacture several refrigerator models and “will take on a broader role in our U.S. manufacturing operations,” the spokesperson wrote.

Last October, Whirlpool announced that it would invest $300 million in two of its laundry manufacturing facilities in Ohio. The investment, part of the company’s plan to grow its manufacturing footprint in the U.S.,, is expected to create up to 600 new jobs.

Demand for new appliances is largely flat in the industry, mostly because of sluggish existing home sales, which have been stuck at a 30-year low since 2023.

Existing home sales “are the most important driver for appliance demand,” Whirlpool CEO Marc Robert Bitzer said during a late January earnings call. Bitzer said that there eventually will be “a multi-year housing recovery,” but when that will begin to occur is unknown.

Also, during the earnings call, Bitzer said that Whirlpool had “identified more than $150 million of cost actions” mostly in North America. Bitzer did not identify what the “cost actions” or cuts in expenses were but said the move “will allow us to largely offset the remainder of the tariff headwinds.”

Whirlpool, headquartered in Benton Harbor, Mich., describes itself as the “only major U.S.-based manufacturer of kitchen and appliances. Its brand portfolio includes Whirlpool, KitchenAid, JennAir, Maytag, Amana, Brastemp, Consul and InSinkErator.