Electrolux to Close St. Cloud Plant in 2019

ST. CLOUD -- Electrolux announced Tuesday they are planning to close their plant here in St. Cloud. The freezer maker says production is expected to continue through the end of 2019.

Electrolux spokeswoman Eloise Hale says they have about 900 employees in St. Cloud. She says all impacted employees will be eligible for jobs elsewhere in the company.

St. Cloud Area Chamber of Commerce President Teresa Bohnen says it's good news that the community has two years to prepare for the job losses. And, she says the local Workforce Center will start working with those workers that are affected as soon as possible.

We have the jobs in St. Cloud, that's the great news.  And, we've already been approached by Senator Smith's office this afternoon to talk about what they can do to help us.  So we're hoping for grant money, workforce grants, those kinds of things to get us help to get these people retrained and into new jobs as soon as possible.

St. Cloud Mayor Dave Kleis says it is never easy to hear about a company closing up in town.  But, he says at least they gave the city a two-year notice, so the employees will have a chance to look for a new job. That makes this closure different than when Fingerhut closed with almost no advance notice.  Kleis says unemployment is at a 17-year low right now, so hopefully, the workers that are impacted will find work elsewhere.

Meanwhile, the company says they will invest $500 million in two other facilities in Springfield, Tennessee and in Anderson, South Carolina.

The Tennessee plant will roughly get $250-million to expand manufacturing operations to include a new line of freestanding cooking products, while the other $250-million will go to expanding the manufacturing processes and add a new range of products.

Construction in Springfield will begin in late 2018 and continue into 2020. Construction in Anderson began last year and is expected to completed in 2019.

St. Cloud's top employers, according to the city's website: 
1).  CentraCare Health Systems Medical Center -- 5,500
2).  State of Minnesota (includes St. Cloud State University and St. Cloud Technical & Community College) State Government -- 2,300
3).  St. Cloud VA Health Care System Medical Center -- 1,700
4).  St. Cloud Area ISD #742 Education - 1,300
5).  Electrolux Home Products Household Freezer/Refrigerator Manufacturing -- 1,000
6).  Capital One Savings Institution -- 900
7).  Fulfillment Distribution Center Warehouse/Distribution -- 800
8).  Coborn’s Inc. Grocery/Convenience Stores -- 700
New Flyer of America Inc. Heavy Duty Bus Manufacturing -- 700
Stearns County County Government -- 700

Back in November Capital One announced it was eliminating 130 jobs from its St. Cloud location.