Solo Cup Co. plans to shut down its Highland Park, Ill., factory and headquarters, cutting about 420 manufacturing jobs there, and move its corporate offices to Lake Forest, Ill.
Aiming to reduce production costs, Solo expects to shift about 200 of the Highland Park jobs to seven of its other U.S. plants, including one in Urbana and another on Chicago's South Side. The company plans to close its Highland Park factory in July.
``Increased efficiency and investment in state-of-the-art equipment are critical to being competitive in our industry and to positioning the company for growth, especially in the current economic climate,'' Robert M. Korzenski, Solo's president and chief executive officer, said in a statement.
The company also plans to consolidate its corporate offices into an office building in Lake Forest. Solo will occupy about 83 percent, or 133,000 square feet, of the 160,000-square-foot building, a company spokeswoman said.
Solo, a maker of cups, plates and other disposable food-service products, said it has signed a letter of intent to sell its headquarters buildings to Illinois firms Annenberg Investments Ltd. and Monroe Investment Partners LLC.
The structures encompass 309,000 square feet on 29 acres, the spokeswoman said. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed, but the deal is expected to close by the end of the year.
Solo also plans to move out of offices it occupies at 200 Tri State International in Lincolnshire, Ill.
Of the 200 manufacturing jobs Solo expects to shift from Highland Park, about 20 to 30 will move to the company's plant in Chicago. That plant employs about 1,000, the spokeswoman said.