CLYDE, OH—Whirlpool Corp. is temporarily halting production at its assembly plant here this week amid global supply chain struggles.

The appliance giant issued a statement March 4 that all hourly employees at the plant, except for those working in skilled trades, will be temporarily laid off. The layoffs started March 7, but the company expects to return workers to their normal schedules starting March 13.

“Our 15,000 U.S. manufacturing employees in our nine plants across the U.S. have been working tirelessly to meet consumer needs,” the statement begins. “Like other companies across the globe, Whirlpool is impacted by supply chain disruptions and constraints. To align our production schedule to the current environment, next week we are scheduling down days for all hourly employees at our Clyde operations with the exception of skilled trades. We are focused on overcoming these challenges and to provide for our consumers who need our appliances more than ever to clean, cook and provide proper food and medicine storage in their homes.”

The 2.4-million-square-foot plant employs some 3,000 people. Prior to the pandemic, the plant was assembling approximately 20,000 washers daily.