Whirlpool Corp

Whirlpool Corp. said Tuesday that it was eliminating about 5,000 jobs this year and next, in large part because of the long downturn in the U.S. housing market. The nation's largest home appliance maker also reported that its earnings fell 7% during the third quarter. Whirlpool lowered its earnings outlook for the year and announced price increases. Shares of Whirlpool dropped 8.3%, or $4.16, to $45.87. They have traded as high as $98 in the last year. The Benton Harbor, Mich.

Maytag Corp. said Sunday that it would consider a sweetened offer from Whirlpool Corp., reopening the bidding contest four weeks before holders were to vote on the company's sale to a private group. Whirlpool, the largest U.S. appliance maker, will be furnished financial information to shape its formal bid, Newton, Iowa-based Maytag said in replying to an $18-a-share offer Whirlpool made late Friday. Maytag, the third-largest U.S.

Whirlpool Corp. said Wednesday that it plans to cut as many as 6,000 jobs, or 10% of its work force, and warned that fourth-quarter profit would miss analysts' estimates because of declining sales and higher costs for materials. The biggest U.S. maker of appliances said the job reductions will contribute to charges of $300 million to $350 million against next year's earnings.

For a second time, Whirlpool Corp. has sweetened the pot in a bid to purchase rival Maytag Corp., submitting a $20-a-share binding offer worth $1.62 billion plus assumed debt. "Our binding offer reflects both the value we see in the combination of Whirlpool and Maytag and the confidence we have in the ultimate receipt of regulatory approval for the transaction," Jeff M. Fettig, Whirlpool's chairman and chief executive, said in a written statement.

Whirlpool Corp., the No. 1 U.S. maker of large appliances, said its earnings will miss forecasts for the rest of the year, largely because Circuit City Group will no longer sell its products. Whirlpool said its third-quarter earnings will be cut by as much as 55 cents a share by Circuit City's recent decision to stop selling major appliances, bringing results well below analysts' forecasts. Whirlpool also has been hurt by rising competition in the U.S. from General Electric Co.

Whirlpool Corp. announced that it is studying production capacity at its plants in Findlay, Ohio; Mount Sterling, Ky., and Oxford, Miss. The study is part of Whirlpool's continuing effort to reduce costs and strengthen its position in the marketplace, said Kenneth W. Kaminski, president of the KitchenAid Appliance Group, and Stephen F. Holmes, president of the Whirlpool Appliance Group. Whirlpool manufactures major home appliances at plants in 10 countries.