Kimberly-Clark Plans To Close 2 Wisconsin Plants, Cut 600 Jobs

Kimberly-Clark’s plan to make deep cuts in its workforce involves hundreds of employees in Wisconsin.

According to the consumer products giant, it plans to close the Neenah Nonwovens facility within the next 18 months, as well as the Cold Spring Facility in nearby Fox Crossing.

The closures involve 600 employees. WLUK-TV reports the company said a final decision on the Cold Spring facility will come after it consults with the plant’s union.

Kimberly-Clark recently announced plans to reduce its workforce by 12 percent to 13 percent, or 5,000 to 5,500 jobs, and close or sell about 10 manufacturing facilities while expanding production elsewhere. The moves come as the company tries to lower costs.

The personal products maker was founded in Neenah in 1872 and moved its corporate headquarters to Irving, Texas in 1985. It currently employs about 3,200 people in the Fox Valley, and there is no timeline yet on when the factories in Wisconsin will close.

The announcement Wednesday comes on the heels of trouble for other Fox Valley paper plants. In the last year, the Fox Valley has seen two paper mill closures, Appvion and US Paper Converters. Another, Appleton Coated, is in receivership.

Outagamie County Executive Tom Nelson said Wednesday he feels the state has neglected one of its historic industries while subsidizing Foxconn’s electronics plant. Nelson said constituents are concerned the state is offering incentives to Foxconn but not to existing employers.

“People are asking if we have $3 billion for Foxconn, surely there’s some support we can offer a home grown industry like the paper industry,” Nelson said.
more at:  https://www.wpr.org/kimberly-clark-plans-close-2-wisconsin-plants-cut-600-jobs