Solo Cup closing Springfield facility, cutting 340 jobs

Solo Cup Co. announced Tuesday that it is closing three of its 13 North American manufacturing facilities, including its Springfield operation, due to increased production efficiency at its other plants.

Solo will cut 340 full-time manufacturing jobs in Springfield, at 1100 N. Glenstone Ave., along with 360 jobs in North Andover, Mass., and 540 jobs in Owings Mills, Md. The Springfield and North Andover facilities will close in mid-to-late 2011, according to a company news release, while the Owings Mills factory will close in mid-2012.

Production volume and manufacturing assets will be distributed among Lake Forest, Ill.-based Solo's other operations, with the company increasing employment at its other factories over the next 12 to 24 months.

Employees at the factories to be shuttered will be able to pursue jobs at other Solo plants and will be given priority over other candidates, according to the release.  

"These decisions are never easy because we know they affect the lives of our employees and their families. It was important to us to give them as much advance notice as possible and we will work to make it a smooth transition for them,” President and CEO Robert M. Korzenski said in the release. “We are grateful for their years of dedicated service to Solo.”

This is not the first time Solo has announced plans to close the Springfield plant. According to previous SBJ coverage, a similar decision was made in 2005 after Solo purchased Sweetheart Cup, but the company changed its mind in June 2006.[[In-content Ad]]