The 420-litre white top mount fridge, which ceased manufacture yesterday, is part of the overall  Westinghouse top and bottom mount models. The latter will go out of production next month at the Orange plant.

This will coincide with 46 permanent employers leaving the plant in a combination of voluntary and forced redundancies. 

Next Friday 35 casual employees will finish up.

“When we employed our casuals we were very clear about the future of the plant and explained their jobs would only be available for between one and three months,” Electrolux general manager Mark O’Kane said.

He said he was proud of the commitment of the employees despite the reality the plant will shut, probably in May next year.

“Our permanent employees have provided valuable and loyal service to the company over many years,” Mr O’Kane said.

“Our company thanks them for their service and wishes them all the best for their future endeavours.”

Mr O’Kane said some of the employees to leave with a redundancy package in early August were close to retirement age.

“Some people did want to go and for the other redundancies required at this stage we looked closely at the particular skill sets of people in making our decision,” Mr O’Kane said.

He said the average working age of employees at the plant was 42 years, so finding a new job is on the minds of the remaining employees.

“We are all in the same situation, and I will have to try and find work as well when the plant finishes up,” he said.

Yesterday at the Orange plant 725 refrigerators rolled off the production line at the only manufacturing plant in Australia to produce whitegoods.

Electrolux management and the NSW government are funding training programs for workers facing redundancy between now and the plant closure next year.

Prior to the start of staged redundancies 550 people were employed at the plant, injecting $70 million into the local economy.

janice.harris@fairfaxmedia.com.au