AUGUST 1, 2025— 90 EMPLOYEES IN PORTLAND, OREGON
The company’s wholly-owned subsidiary, Owens-Brockway, has announced it is shutting down its Portland, Oregon, glass recycling facility on or after August 1, 2025, with layoffs commencing on August 5, 2025.
The closure will impact approximately 90 employees.
According to management, “We regret the impact of this decision upon our employees. The Company will provide pay and benefits to all impacted employees for the next sixty (60) days in addition to any other benefits to which they may be entitled under Company policy or applicable contract. The Company will offer access to services through our employee assistance program services and work diligently to support them during this transition.”
SEPTEMBER 22, 2023 — WACO, TEXAS PLANT SHUTTING DOWN WITH 300 LAYOFFS
The company has announced that it is ceasing bottle-making production at its Waco, Texas facility on October 16, 2023, and officially closing its doors in December 2023.
Around 300 total employees will have lost their jobs, including the 90 laid off in February of this year.
A company spokesperson noted, “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.”
FEBRUARY 7, 2023 — FURNACE DAMAGE LEADS TO 90 LAYOFFS IN WACO, TEXAS
According to a company spokesperson, “One of our furnaces has experienced ongoing damage and continued decline in performance due to thermal shock resulting from the power and gas outages during the freeze of February 2021. The company will restructure the workforce and the facility to focus on the two remaining furnaces.”
NOVEMBER 1, 2019 — 93 EMPLOYEES TO BE LAID OFF IN PORTLAND, OREGON
The company has announced that it will be idling one of its glass furnaces in Portland, Oregon, and laying off 93 employees in the process. The company states that they do not know if or when the furnace may be reactivated. The layoffs are scheduled to commence December 30, 2019.
SEPTEMBER 18, 2019 — Previous post…
Perrysburg, Ohio-based Owens-Brockway Glass Container, manufacturer of glass containers, is continuing its three-year transformational program and has announced that the company will be idling one of their glass furnaces in their Waco, Texas plant and laying off approximately 75 employees commencing on November 7, 2019. The decision was based on market economics with a softer demand for beer in the United States. According to a company spokesperson, “With continued softer demand in the U.S. across the beer category, O-I plans to idle one of the furnaces it uses to manufacture glass containers at its Waco facility for an indefinite duration/ This particular furnace is dedicated 100% to producing beer bottles. The remaining furnaces will continue to produce some beer as well as spirit and food glass packaging."
“As the Company remains focused on enabling its strategy to create long-term shareholder value, specific actions are underway to accelerate performance. In addition to the Company's highly successful Total Systems Cost initiative, an accelerated cost reduction initiative is being launched to help advance productivity and cost take-out across the enterprise and will be supported by a leading third-party consulting organization. And, the Company continues its strategic review of its business portfolio in order to focus on core operations best aligned with the interests of the Company and its strategic customers. This review is in addition to O-I's current tactical divestiture program and is supported through the Company's ongoing engagement with Goldman Sachs.”
Change is coming. There will always be a tomorrow, no matter how much you may try to ignore it. There are no guarantees in life or promises for a bright future. We see good people being laid off through no fault of their own. Just because something bad hasn't happened yet, doesn't mean it won't. It can happen to anyone, anytime, anywhere. No one is guaranteed to wake up tomorrow and still have a job by evening. Are you now wondering, Am I Next?
