EVANSVILLE, Ind. (AP) – Whirlpool Corp. says it is delaying planned layoffs at its development center in Evansville in part because some people have left their jobs ahead of the center’s scheduled 2014 closure.

The company informed state officials last month that it expected to start layoffs in November, but now says those job cuts won’t begin until at least Dec. 31.

Whirlpool spokeswoman Kristine Vernier tells the Evansville Courier & Press  that about 200 people now work at the Refrigeration Product Development Center, down from about 230 employees in April.

Whirlpool announced in August it would consolidate the center’s work at facilities near its Benton Harbor, Mich., headquarters. The company had more than 1,500 workers in Evansville before closing its refrigerator plant in 2010 and moving that production work to Mexico.