O-I plans to close its glass bottles manufacturing plant in Waco, Texas, USA.
The company said the plant will stop production October 16 and completely close in December. It is not known if the employees will be offered work at other O-I’s plants.
Jim Woods, O-I spokesperson, stated, “O-I Glass has been a proud member of the Waco community, producing sustainable glass packaging for the beer, spirits and non-alcoholic beverage markets since 1944.
“O-I continuously evaluates the long-term needs of the business and the viability of the assets at each manufacturing facility to best serve our critical customer base. As such, a decision has been made to close the Waco facility.
“O-I has met with our team members and union officials to communicate this decision and discuss transitional support available both through the company and through the State of Texas government agencies.”
In February 2023, the O-I Glass plant in Waco faced the lay off of 90 employees in a workforce restructuring that company officials blamed on furnace damage from the freeze of February 2021.
In January 2023, O-I created, in partnership with Keep Waco Beautiful, the City of Waco, and Pernod Ricard, GLASS4GOOD™ in Waco to make glass recycling more accessible to the community. It has not yet been announced what will happen to the glass recycling program.