The world's largest glass bottle maker says it will soon close its B.C. facility, making it the company's third plant closure in Canada this year. Owens-Illinois Inc. said it will shut its bottle-making plant in Lavington, B.C., by the end of October, putting 300 people out of work. The Ohio-based company said the closure was necessary as Owens-Illinois works to rationalize its North American business and cut costs. "This closing was driven by our ongoing global asset utilization process which identified the opportunity to shift our production to other North American facilities, resulting in lower energy consumption and production costs," said Scott Murchison, president of Owens-Illinois's North America glass containers business. Lavington is a small community in the B.C. Interior, north of Kelowna. The shuttering of the plant marks the second closing of an Owens-Illinois facility in Canada in the past four weeks, and the third this year. At the end of July, the company said it would close its Toronto facility by the end of September. That move will result in the loss of 430 jobs. In addition, in January, Owens-Illinois shut a bottle-making plant in Scoudouc, N.B.
The company said it will offer assistance to the Lavington employees in finding new work. Owens-Illinois posted revenue of $2.2 billion US in the second quarter of the year with a profit of $227.5 million. The company has approximately 24,000 workers and 82 facilities around the world.
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Starlee Speers Astral Media Radio (Vernon)
Three hundred workers at a Lavington glass container plant were told the plant would close in October as the US company streamlines operations. Coldstream Mayor Gary Corner says, there's not much the municipality can do but he's hopeful the company, Owens-Illinois will keep their word and help the workers find new jobs."It's not nice news at all, I feel very very bad for the people working there." In July the company blamed the high Canadian dollar, soaring energy prices and an anti-glass policy at Ontario's liquor control agency for the closure of the Toronto plant. Employees at O I Canada Corp in Lavington were told Friday morning the plant would close October 31st with existing production to be transferred to other plants.
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A major North Okanagan employer is shutting down operations permanently. Owens-Illinois Incorporated announced Friday it will shut down its glass container plant in Lavington on Oct. 31. One furnace will be shut down by Sept. 30, and the other by Halloween. The move will put 300 people out of work, but the company says it will provide assistance to its employees seeking new jobs. Scott Murchison, president of the Perrysburg, Ohio-based company, said the reason for the shutdown was a result of the company’s ongoing review of its “global manufacturing footprint.” Existing production from the Lavington glass plant, which opened as Consumer’s Glass in September, 1969, will be transferred to other O-I facilities. See Sunday’s Morning Star for details and reaction of the closure.
2 comments:
Does every worker at the plant feel muzzled and unable to say anything about this. What with the market meltdown, and the bleak prospects for getting a well paid job in the Valley . I would be voicing my displeasure..and going out with a bang and not a whimper.
I was working in the Scoudouc plant, which OI decided to close March 31, 2008. In a small community like Shediac, it really stinks. The plant in Scoudouc had alot of employee with 20 years + seniority, and within a few year to retire, and now their future isn't so bright. Thanks OI for screwing up our lives, after making millions in profit, in the last year. It lookes to me like they are tatgetting the Canadian business. I know that I will boycott glass as much as I can knowing that the only reason they closed us, is because they are a US company.
Good luck to ALL the ex glass worker. Hope your futures are bright.
From a ex coworker in Scoudouc
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