U.S. manufacturing jobs at risk as demand slows

Nagging high unemployment in the United States, which held steady at 9.1 percent in September, has depleted spendable income. Concerns about the country's economic future have further depressed consumer sentiment.

And just as repercussions from Whirlpool's actions can spread across an Arkansas town, analysts have said investors should brace for weakness to spread to other manufacturers in the United States.

So far this earnings season, a number of manufacturers that rely on consumer demand, like Whirlpool, air conditioner maker Ingersoll Rand Plc and 3M Co, which makes components for LCD televisions, have cut their financial forecasts.

Makers of highly engineered industrial equipment, such as United Technologies Corp, Boeing Co and Caterpillar Inc, have fared better because of demand from markets like China, India and Russia. But now, even those economies are slowing down.