Electrolux will temporarily close the South Carolina plant, resulting in the layoffs of some 1,200 workers. However, they will be invited back to the facility once it reopens in 2027. In the interim, the factory will be converted from making refrigerators to laundry appliances. Electrolux will own 55 percent of the revamped plant; while Midea will own the remaining 45 percent.

Midea will acquire a 65 percent stake in the Juarez factory.

To fund the joint ventures and carry out other restructuring measures across its operations, Electrolux is offering a $976 million rights issue. A rights issue is an invitation from a company to existing shareholders to purchase additional shares in the company. In these offerings, companies grant shareholders the right, but not the obligation, to buy new shares at a discount to the market price up to a stated future date. Cash-strapped companies use rights issues to raise money when they really need it.

Electrolux’s North American business, which represents around a third of its sales, has struggled for years with high costs, underperforming factories and tough competition.