Silgan Plastics LLC is laying off more than five dozen workers at its Ligonier, Ind., facility.
Described as a “partial reduction and relocation of operations” in a letter to state officials, the maker of plastics containers said the move was scheduled to begin June 29 and be completed by Sept. 8.
The total of 69 job losses include seven salaried positions and 62 hourly positions, Silgan reported to the Indiana Department of Workforce Development in the letter required under the Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act, or WARN.
“We regret to inform you that due to restructuring of our manufacturing operations, Silgan is planning to phase out and relocate the IBM (injection blow molding) and decorating operations and partial reduction of the BDS (blow direct screw) operations in the Ligonier facility,” the WARN letter states.
Of the hourly workers, many of the job losses fall under the job titles of finishers, with 19, and utility, with 16. Of the seven salaried workers, four are listed as manufacturing supervisors.
The company said the anticipated schedule of layoffs might change due to union seniority provisions, but there are no transfer rights to move to another Silgan location.
The Ligonier site is one of 20 Silgan manufacturing locations in the United States and Canada.
While Silgan Plastics is cutting jobs in Ligonier, the company is expanding into new facilities in both Pennsylvania and Missouri.
It was just in April that details about Silgan Plastic's plans for a new production facility in Hazelwood, Mo., near St. Louis emerged.
At that time, the company confirmed that its new 335,000-square-foot facility in Hazelwood was expected to bring at least 120 manufacturing jobs.
Operations in Hazelwood, the company has said, are expected to begin late this year.
Silgan Plastics, a unit of Stamford, Conn.-based Silgan Holdings Inc., also has plans for a 135,000-square-foot facility in the borough of North East, Pa., in Erie County.
That location is expected to create 30 jobs over three years, Pennsylvania state officials have said.
Silgan Plastics makes containers for various markets, including personal care, food, healthcare and household and industrial chemicals.
