Atlanta-based Graphic Packaging International will close a facility in Charlotte, North Carolina, according to a notification filed with the state of North Carolina on Jan. 11. The closure will affect 112 jobs, the notice states.
This paperboard converting facility produces folding cartons for food and other consumer products, a Graphic Packaging International spokesperson said via email on Tuesday.
“After an assessment of the company’s overall converting portfolio, it was decided to consolidate Charlotte’s production into our broader network of plants,” the spokesperson said. GPI has two other plants near Charlotte, in Pineville and Randleman.
The company is providing outplacement services and encourages laid-off employees who are “interested and qualified” to apply for positions at other GPI locations, according to the spokesperson.
The WARN listing indicates the plant will close around March 31, and the GPI spokesperson said the closure should be complete by late in the second quarter. Hourly production employees are represented by the United Steelworkers union Local 1089, which has been informed of the closure, according to GPI’s WARN letter, obtained by local news station WSOC.
GPI was among the many packaging manufacturers to announce closures in 2023. For example, it closed a paper mill in Tama, Iowa last spring. In the fall, it permanently decommissioned a coated recycled paperboard machine at the Kalamazoo, Michigan, mill ahead of schedule; initially it had indicated the machine would shut down after a new paperboard plant in Waco, Texas, comes online in 2026. Graphic Packaging also is building out some paperboard capabilities; in September it completed its acquisition of Bell Inc., which specializes in food and consumer products packaging as well as paperboard mailers.
