Libbey Inc. (“Libbey” or the “Company”), one of the world’s largest glass tableware manufacturers, today announced a tentative plan to close its manufacturing facility in Shreveport, Louisiana, USA, as the Company continues to take actions to reduce costs and align manufacturing capacity with lower levels of projected demand. Libbey will negotiate this recommendation further with the unions representing its employees prior to finalizing a decision.
Mike Bauer, chief executive officer of Libbey, said, “Over the last few years, we have experienced declining demand in our core markets, which has contributed to overcapacity. This has been exacerbated by COVID-19. The recommendation to close our facility in Shreveport will better align our cost structure with current and expected customer demand as we position Libbey for the future. If the closure occurs, we will leverage our existing U.S. and international manufacturing footprint, along with our best-in-class sourcing capabilities, to continue to provide industry-leading service to our customers and end users.”
He continued, “Although difficult, we believe this is a necessary step in transforming Libbey for success in the post-COVID-19 era, and we recognize the impact it could have on our 450 employees in Shreveport, their families and the communities in which we operate. We will work constructively with the unions representing Libbey employees and will keep all stakeholders informed as we consider our final decision about our continued operations.”
This tentative plan, if implemented, would wind down Libbey’s manufacturing operations in Shreveport by the end of 2020. The Company’s distribution centre in Greenwood, Louisiana, is not impacted by this announcement and will remain open.
Additional Resources
As previously announced, on June 1, 2020, the Company and its U.S.-based subsidiaries filed voluntary petitions for a court-supervised reorganization under Chapter 11 under Title 11 of the United States Code in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware. Libbey’s international subsidiaries in Canada, China, Mexico, the Netherlands and Portugal are not included in the Chapter 11 proceedings and are operating in the normal course of business.
Additional information is available at www.LibbeyRestructuringInfo.com. Court filings and other information related to the court-supervised proceedings are available at here or by calling Libbey’s claims agent, Prime Clerk, at (877) 429-7404 (or (646) 214-8836 for international calls).