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Fiber and glass are among the packaging substrates hardest hit by February closure and layoff announcements. Here are the North American facilities that have announced downsizing efforts:
- Ahlstrom filed a worker adjustment and retraining notification with the state of Wisconsin over its decision to close a pulp mill and two paper machines in Mosinee. The closure is due to “significant challenges, including rising operating costs, limited automation, and resource constraints,” the letter says. It will affect 21 salaried employees and a “significant number” of hourly positions. However, that exact figure won’t be known until union bargaining concludes, according to the company. Local news reports estimate the number is around 200 workers. Employee separation dates also are unknown at this time, although the overall plant closure is slated to begin around June 30.
- Ardagh laid off 45 workers at a site in Madera, California, according to KMPH. The state’s Employment Development Department does not have a WARN on file, but the Madera County Workforce Assistance Center held events last month to assist affected Ardagh employees. The company reportedly shut down a production line at its glass packaging facility due to overstocking, and WAC says it’s unclear if this resulted from a nearby winery’s closure.
- Cascades is closing a plant in York, Pennsylvania, and two in Quebec as part of the decision to exit the honeycomb paperboard and partition packaging product sectors. A total of 114 employees are affected, 37 of which were at York, a facility that had a Feb. 19 closure date. One Quebec plant was slated for immediate closure in early February, while the other has an April 17 closure date.
- Garlock Flexibles, a flexible pouch, lidding and rollstock supplier, plans to close two Massachusetts facilities to affect a total of 91 employees, according to a WARN. Layoffs are scheduled for April 30 through Sept. 30.
- International Paper will permanently close a container plant in Georgetown, South Carolina, by the end of this year. Layoffs will affect 126 people and are scheduled to occur between May 1 and Dec. 31. In late 2024, IP closed its Georgetown pulp and paper mill, eliminating 674 jobs. And in January, the company posted a WARN with the state of Washington, noting it plans to permanently close a plant in Union Gap that involves 102 layoffs as of April 3. That same month, executives announced on an earnings call the plan to close seven facilities and lay off at least 700 people this year in the Europe, Middle East and Africa region.
- Smurfit Westrock will close a machine at its paper mill in La Tuque, Quebec, as well as an extrusion facility in Pointe-aux-Trembles, Quebec, which will affect approximately 90 employees. These closures are slated to occur in March.
Other updates:
- Evergreen Recycling filed a WARN stating its intention to close its facility in Albany, New York, and another in Clyde, Ohio, affecting a total of 247 employees from Feb. 24 through April 24. The PET recycler explained that on Feb. 13 its revolving credit lender “unexpectedly swept all of the company’s cash” even though Evergreen had engaged with several parties potentially interested in acquiring it. “We made every effort to avoid this outcome by actively seeking purchasers for the company as a going concern,” the WARN letter says. “Unfortunately, we were unsuccessful in our efforts.” On Feb. 17, the lender said it would take control of Evergreen’s working assets and stop funding the company, which prompted Evergreen to immediately cease operations. The status of Evergreen’s third site, in Nova Scotia, is unclear.
- Verallia, the France-based glass packaging manufacturer, disclosed during a Feb. 24 earnings call that it was conducting strategic reviews in Europe in advance of potential closures there to align with lagging demand. It’s eyeing a facility closure in Essen, Germany, to affect 300 positions, as well as a furnace shutdown in Cognac, France, that would affect 60 employees. In the United Kingdom, the company is also looking to shut a furnace in Knottingley, while restarting a more efficient one in Leeds.
