Westinghouse
Lacks transparency. Publishes some details, but doesn't show its workers are paid and treated fairly.
Last researched 2 November 2026 · 7 sources
Electrolux-owned brand of ovens, fridges and laundry.
Westinghouse's supply chain was linked to forced labour in 2019, and union rights were breached in its supply chain in 2013, which it has only partly put right.
Know something we've missed? Send evidence. Represent Westinghouse? Send a right of reply.
Compare Westinghouse with another brand
Why it's graded Lacks transparency
- Not met: Meets 2 of 6 Good requirements.
- Holds the grade back: It has 3 red flags: clear breaches of labour conditions, unaudited production in high-risk countries and forced or child labour. Two or more red flags means a poor grade.
- It isn't Harm on record: the most serious problem on its record (forced labour link, last recorded in 2019) is more than 5 years old.
- Lacks transparency is still a poor grade: in supply chains like this, workers who can't be seen to be treated fairly are usually underpaid or unprotected.
Good requirements 2 of 6
- Not met: Pays a living wage, or holds a strong fair-pay certificationLiving wage: working towards one (proven for only part of its supply chain)
- Not met: Respects worker rightsA confirmed problem counts against it: union rights breach, last recorded in 2013
- Not met: Supply chain independently audited or certified, or at least 80% made in countries with strong labour standards
- Not met: No child or forced labour findings or links
- Met: Names the factories or farms that make its products, or is fully certified by a scheme that holds and audits that listMakes its products in its own factories
- Met: High-risk raw materials (such as timber and cotton) traced or certified, or not a major part of its rangeNone recorded in a major share of its range
Red flags 3
- Red flag: Clear breaches of labour conditions
- Red flag: Made mostly in countries with poor worker rights, without a full independent audit of its supply chain
- Red flag: Forced, slave or child labour found in or linked to its supply chain
Stars it would earn as Good
None yet. Stars only show on Good companies. About stars
Where it's made
From Westinghouse's own disclosure: it makes its products in its own factories. Its list covers only part of its range. The rest is shown as where homewares and appliances are usually made.
| Country | Share | Worker rights | Legal minimum wage | Forced labour risk |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Australia | 35% | Strong protections | About a living wage | Low |
| Thailand | 35% | No guarantee of rights | Below a living wage | Moderate |
| ChinaUsual for the industry | 15% | No guarantee of rights | Below a living wage | Moderate |
| VietnamUsual for the industry | 5% | Systematic violations | Well below a living wage | Moderate |
| IndiaUsual for the industry | 3% | No guarantee of rights | Well below a living wage | High |
| PolandUsual for the industry | 3% | Regular violations | Close to a living wage | Moderate |
| IndonesiaUsual for the industry | 2% | No guarantee of rights | Well below a living wage | Moderate |
| MalaysiaUsual for the industry | 2% | No guarantee of rights | Below a living wage | Moderate |
Evidence
What we found
- No high-risk raw materials (such as timber and cotton) are recorded in a major share of its range, so the raw-material check doesn't hold it back for Good.
- Owns or runs its own production
- Modern slavery statement
- Actively empowers workers (ownership, worker committees, union agreements, training)
- Proves a living wage for part of its supply chain only
Research notes Westinghouse ovens and freestanding cookers are built at Electrolux's own Dudley Park factory in Adelaide, while fridges and washers come from Electrolux's Rayong plant in Thailand after the Orange fridge factory closed in 2016; shares count these two named sites, and other products come from unnamed Electrolux sites. Electrolux runs about 40 own factories, audits higher-risk suppliers and has a global union agreement, and says no direct employee is paid below a living wage benchmark, though this does not cover suppliers. It publishes no supplier list.
What independent sources say
| Source | Result | Details |
|---|---|---|
| Australian Modern Slavery Register | Listed | Electrolux lodges modern slavery statements on the Australian register, including a 2022 group statement. View |
| UK Modern Slavery Statement Registry | Listed | Electrolux's group statement on slavery and human trafficking is lodged on the UK registry. View |
| Baptist World Aid Ethical Fashion Report | Listed | Electrolux was graded B- in Baptist World Aid's 2016 Electronics Industry Report, the last edition of that series; it is in no current Baptist World Aid report. View |
| Business & Human Rights Resource Centre | Problem found | Records the 2013 dismissal of union members at Electrolux Thailand and Electrolux's listing in ASPI's 2020 Uyghur labour report. View |
Confirmed issues 2
Only confirmed problems are listed, and old ones drop off after 10 to 15 years. A problem the company has fully put right no longer counts against it, and nor does one it finds and is fixing itself. How problems are counted
| Last recorded | What happened | Made amends? |
|---|---|---|
| 2019 | Link through a supplierThe Australian Strategic Policy Institute named Electrolux among 83 brands linked to Chinese factories using Uyghur workers transferred from Xinjiang in conditions strongly suggesting forced labour (ASPI via BHRRC, 2020). Source | Not knownElectrolux told Radio Sweden it has no suppliers in Xinjiang and that the named supplier denied using forced labour; no other action reported. |
| 2013 | Electrolux's Rayong factory in Thailand, which makes washers and fridges for the Australian market, dismissed more than 100 union members after a 2012-2013 wage dispute (IndustriALL, 2013). Source · search the archive | PartlyElectrolux agreed with union IF Metall in 2013 to reinstate dismissed workers and drop court cases, but unions said most were not taken back. |
Sources and actions
Sources 7
Show all 7 sources
- Inside Electrolux's global living wage rollout (WageIndicator, 2025) · search the archive · No direct employees paid below living wage benchmark from 2024; suppliers not covered
- IndustriALL and IF Metall working for solution at Electrolux Thailand (2013) · search the archive · Union members at the Rayong factory dismissed in 2013; reinstatement agreement not implemented locally
- Orange manager to run Thailand manufacturing (Appliance Retailer, 2016) · search the archive · Electrolux Rayong washer and fridge plants make products for Australia; fridges moved from Orange, which closed in 2016
- Electrolux response on Uyghur forced labour (Sveriges Radio) · search the archive · Electrolux says it has no suppliers in Xinjiang; the accused supplier denies using forced labour
- Westinghouse Built in Australia (Betta) · search the archive · Westinghouse 60cm and 90cm ovens made in Adelaide and sold in Betta stores
Published by Westinghouse or its owner
- Modern Australian-built ovens and cookers (Westinghouse) · search the archive · Built-in ovens and freestanding cookers built at a local factory in Dudley Park, Adelaide
- Electrolux Group Modern Slavery Statement 2022 · search the archive · 40 factories, 51,000 employees; 306 supplier audits in 2022; 3 cases of withheld pay remediated
Company details
- Owned by
- AB Electrolux (Electrolux Group)
- Headquarters
- Sweden
- Employees
- About 51,000
- Last researched
- 2 November 2026
- Cite this page
- Labour Lens, "Is Westinghouse ethical? Labour rating", https://www.labourlens.net/brand/westinghouse, last researched 2 November 2026, accessed [date].
- Method
- Researched with AI assistance against published rules. How we check · What Lacks transparency means
Better-graded appliances
Something missing or wrong?
Grades are opinions based on the evidence listed here. Send us evidence, or a right of reply if you represent Westinghouse.