09.11.06
Packaging products maker Owens-Illinois Inc. said it will layoff 261 workers when it closes a machine parts plant by the end of the year to cut costs.
The 300,000-square-foot facility, which opened in 1958, is located in Godfrey, Ill., about 20 miles north of St. Louis.
Toledo, Ohio-based Owens-Illinois said it will outsource its machine parts manufacturing to various third-party suppliers. Production at Godfrey is expected to phase out over the next four months.
Chief Financial Officer Ed White said the decision will enable the company to be more competitive, in part by reducing its glass container manufacturing costs through lower investment in machines and machine repair parts.
The company said it informed representatives of the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers union last month that the company was considering outsourcing the operations at Godfrey. Final word came in a meeting with union representatives Friday morning.
Roger Lawrence, chairman of a seven-person shop committee that had been negotiating with management, said the union offered concessions but "apparently it wasn't enough."
Company spokeswoman Kelley Yoder said displaced employees can compete for any available positions elsewhere in the company.
