Swedish white-goods group Electrolux will cut 3,000 jobs over two years — nearly 8% of its global workforce — and launch a 9 billion Swedish kronor rights issue (830 million euros), ahead of its Q1 results. This follows a similar-sized restructuring announced in late 2022 (4,000 jobs at the time) and a series of smaller cuts since.
Half of the first 1,500 cuts this year will land in North America, where Electrolux is forming a joint venture with Chinese manufacturer Midea to take over part of its regional production. The JV, effective Q3 2026, spans three sites with different ownership splits: the Anderson, North Carolina plant (which stops refrigeration and pivots to washers, with Midea set to hire up to 1,200 staff in 2027-2028 — not necessarily the same people or on the same terms), a US refrigeration commercial entity, and a Mexican refrigeration plant. Electrolux expects synergies of around 600 million Swedish kronor (55.5 million euros) by year three of the partnership.
In parallel, the group is closing a Hungarian refrigerator plant that made both standalone and built-in units. Electrolux frames the move as a push for efficiency "through targeted optimisation of the global industrial footprint", but the Midea tie-up is the bigger signal: a European incumbent handing over part of its US manufacturing base to a Chinese competitor. Source: Les Echos, 23 April 2026, Clotilde Briard.