From Staff Reports
LAKE FOREST, Ill. — Lake Forest-based Pactiv Evergreen announced in a March 6 press release that it “plans to take significant restructuring actions related to its Beverage Merchandising operations.”
Specifically, the company stated that it “expects to close its Canton, North Carolina, mill and its converting facility in Olmsted Falls, Ohio, with operations at both facilities expected to end during the second quarter of 2023.”
The release added, “Approximately 1,300 positions will be eliminated as a a result of these actions. The company will provide outplacement assistance and severance to impacted employees, consistent with company policy and labor union agreements.”
In an explanation for the Canton and Olmsted Falls closures, Michael King, president and CEO of Pactive Evergreen, noted, “As we continue to confront a challenging market environment for our Beverage Merchandising business, we are faced with these difficult decisions that directly impact our employees.
“We assess all changes to the business with considerable thought for our employees, customers, shareholders and communities, and we do not take these decisions lightly. We remain committed to doing what’s right, treating everyone with respect, and delivering on all of our commitments to our people, customers, shareholders and the communities where we operate,” King said.
Pactiv Evergreen’s fourth quarter 2022 financial results and beverage merchandizing restructuring plan stated the following:
“As a result of the closures and change in management structure, we expect to incur non-cash charges in the range of $310 million to $330 million, primarily during 2023 related to the acceleration of depreciation of plant and equipment and other asset impairments.
“We also expect to incur and pay cash charges in the range of $130 million to $185 million, primarily during 2023 and 2024, related to severance and associated benefits and exit and dispoal and other transition costs.
“All the above estimates are provisional and include significant management judgments and assumptions that could change materially as we execute our plans.
“Actual results may differ from these estimates, and the execution of our plan could result in addition restructurig charges or impairments not reflected above.”
The report then quoted King, the president and CEO, as saying, “The strategic actions we are announcing today will reduce our capital expenditures and overhead costs.
“We expect these proactive steps to position us to remain competition in the liquid packaging market and gain synergies from the further integration of our businesses.
“We are targeting an annualized reduction in our costs of approximately $30 million and a reduction of approximately $50 million in capital expenditures, with full annualized run rate of these benefits expected to be realized beginning in 2024,” King concluded.
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