FORT SMITH — More than 900 Whirlpool workers began trickling out of the appliance manufacturing plant in Fort Smith this morning for the last time, as the big blue plant that has been a manufacturing hub for Fort Smith closed its doors.
Most hourly workers were told they could leave early.
"They told us we could work a half-day and leave at 10. We'd still get paid for the full day," said Rick Hayes of Fort Smith, who's worked at the plant for 18 years. "It was a lot of saying good-bye, shaking hands."
The company had employed more than 4,500 people a few years ago in Fort Smith. The company is moving production of its main product at this city's plant, a side-by-side refrigerator, to a production facility in Mexico.