More than 400 show up for Whirlpool job fair in Cleveland

photo People wait in line to fill out applications Saturday at Whirlpool in Cleveland.
Arkansas-Ole Miss Live Blog

More than 400 people turned out Saturday morning for a job fair aiming to fill 60 jobs at Whirlpool in Cleveland, Tenn.

The oven maker will start production later this year at a $120 million plant that will replace its existing facility here.

Dicky Walters, Whirlpool's plant leader, said the job fair is the first phase of eventually adding 130 new employees to its 1,500-person work force.

"We want to begin hiring in around a couple of weeks," he said.

Athens, Tenn., resident Carol Johnson was among the 75 or so who lined up early for the fair. She had worked at Amazon until that temporary job ended about a month ago.

"This is the only thing right now that's hiring," she said about Whirlpool.

Bradley County's jobless rate in December was 7.2 percent, down from 7.7 percent in November.

See Sunday's Times Free Press for complete coverage.

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