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Packaging companies are already adjusting their manufacturing footprints in 2025. This follows around 6,000 packaging-related jobs being affected by manufacturing closures and layoffs in 2024, according to Packaging Dive’s tracking throughout the year. These are some of the upcoming changes reported in January:
- Greif announced two separate shutdowns that will affect 140 jobs in total. The company will permanently cease production on the No. 1 Paperboard Machine (A1), a non-integrated uncoated recycled paperboard asset, in Austell, Georgia, by the end of March. It will also permanently close its containerboard and uncoated recycled paperboard mill in Fitchburg, Massachusetts, by the end of May. The changes will affect about 70 jobs per location. A company spokesperson said affected employees are being aided with severance benefits, outplacement assistance, and help in exploring other opportunities at Greif, but the company “will not be able to retain every colleague.”
- Orbis, which makes reusable bulk containers, crates and plastic pallets, is shuttering a production site in Menasha, Wisconsin, as it moves capacity to a new plant in Greenville, Texas. In Wisconsin, 109 employees will be laid off come March 15, according to a Jan. 15 notice to that state.
- Packaging Corporation of America announced it will close a corrugated products plant in East Point, Georgia, affecting 103 employees come March. It will shift capacity elsewhere in its network, a company spokesperson said. PCA also said it would assist workers with finding new employment within PCA or elsewhere in the East Point area.
- RR Donnelley is laying off 88 workers at a facility in Nacogdoches, Texas, come March 15, according to a Jan. 14 notice to the state. RRD, which has a presence in multiple industries, lists this site as part of its packaging business.
Other updates
- Ardagh Glass Packaging’s Europe business is reviewing capacity reductions that could affect some 320 employees across manufacturing facilities in Germany and the Netherlands, in light of lower demand, Glass International reported. Specifically, this includes the proposed closure of a glass production facility in Drebkau, Germany.
- Dow announced it will cut 1,500 roles from its global workforce. This is part of a company plan announced Jan. 30 to achieve $1 billion in cost savings. “While these decisions are difficult, we must continue to take proactive actions to reduce costs while we navigate through this ongoing slower-than-expected macroeconomic recovery," said CEO Jim Fitterling in a statement. “As 2025 progresses we will continue to evaluate options to reinforce our competitiveness and take further action if necessary.” Dow did not respond to a request for comment about whether the layoffs will hit its packaging and specialty plastics business, where net sales were down nearly 6% year over year in the fourth quarter.
- O-I Glass appears poised to shut down a manufacturing facility in Barcelona, Spain, impacting 168 positions, Glass International reported. O-I has been reviewing its footprint, reporting in October that it wanted to evaluate the closure of at least 7% of its total capacity by mid-2025.
