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For the second consecutive month, the packaging industry accumulated more than 1,000 layoff announcements in November, with International Paper comprising a large proportion. Many of the separations are scheduled to occur next year. Here are the announcements Packaging Dive tracked:
- Ceilley Pallets filed a worker adjustment and retraining notification with the state of Iowa regarding the closure of a plant in Waterloo. The 12-person layoff was listed to occur on Nov. 27. The company is closing this location because it lost its main vendor, according to KCRG, and employees were offered two weeks severance.
- Graphic Packaging International confirmed that the long anticipated closure of its mill in East Angus, Quebec, will move forward now that operations have begun at its new recycled paperboard mill in Waco, Texas. Approximately 120 employees will be affected when the East Angus plant closes, which is expected around Jan. 22, 2026, a spokesperson said via email. Those employees have “played an important role in the company’s success, and we are committed to providing them with support and outplacement assistance,” the spokesperson said.
- Inline Plastics Corp. plans to permanently close a manufacturing facility in Gladwin, Michigan, and cut the 25 employees there, according to a WARN filed with the state. The food packaging company anticipates these separations will be complete by Jan. 12, 2026.
- International Paper made two major announcements just days apart: It aims to close a corrugated container facility in Compton, California, and another in Louisville, Kentucky, by January 2026, affecting a total of 218 employees; it also intends to close five sites in Germany by the end of 2026, affecting approximately 500 employees. The company’s ongoing streamlining actions have affected more than 4,500 employees since October 2024.
- Printpack is slated to close a facility in Elgin, Illinois, and lay off 111 workers as of Jan. 5, according to a WARN filed with the state. The packaging and printing company lists this site as dealing with flexibles.
- Smurfit Westrock plans to close a corrugated food service packaging plant in Atlanta by Jan. 5, which would affect 55 employees. This facility will close “as part of ongoing optimization,” according to a spokesperson, and production “will transition to an improved Smurfit Westrock facility with expanded production capabilities, optimized logistics and certified to SQF standards.”
