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Layoffs rose across the U.S. economy in September. The employment index fell 2.1 percentage points from August. Manufacturing is contracting as companies see lower demand and rightsize production accordingly, Manufacturing Dive reported. The Institute for Supply Management’s September Purchasing Managers’ Index, out Tuesday, was flat month-to-month at 47.2%.
September saw these layoff announcements about packaging companies:
- Berry Global is permanently closing a plant in Edmonton, Canada, that manufactures plastic film for agricultural applications like wrapping bales, according to a Sept. 27 statement from Unifor, which describes itself as Canada’s largest private-sector union. Unifor said the site saw multi-week shutdowns in 2023. Unifor said the 2024 closure impacted 58 of its members’ jobs, with layoffs happening between Sept. 13 and Sept. 27. According to Unifor, Berry purchased the site four years ago and cited market contraction in its recent decision. In Plastics News’ reporting on the closure, it said Berry could not be reached for comment.
- Dart Container laid off about 250 employees, 160 of whom worked at the company’s Mason, Michigan, corporate headquarters, local news media reported. That’s out of about 13,000 people in its overall workforce. In a release, the company said the purpose of the layoffs was to “balance administrative costs with current sales volumes and remain price competitive,” according to the Lansing State Journal. Keith Clark, CEO of the foodservice packaging company, said in a statement that “Growth in the packaging industry has stagnated post-pandemic,” with demand for food and beverage customers’ products impacted.
- Origin Materials announced Sept. 20 it’s pushing resources to its growing PET caps and closures business. With that, it’s carrying out a 28% workforce reduction that it said would largely be completed by the end of the quarter. Origin did not specify the number of employees impacted, but the company ended 2023 with 112 employees in the U.S. and 50 in Canada. The company said it will shift to “on demand” operation of its facility in Sarnia, Ontario, “reducing staffing while preserving the ability to generate small volumes of product sufficient to explore scale-up with strategic partners.” Origin has previously done layoffs; it cut 30% of its workforce, about 60 positions, in late 2023.
