Toronto glass plant closure cuts 430 jobs

Ohio–Owens-Illinois Inc. is closing its glass container plant in Toronto. The shutdown, effective Sept. 30, will hit 430 workers.

The company said Tuesday the closure arises from an "ongoing review of its global manufacturing footprint," and the Toronto plant´s production will be shifted to other factories, including sites in Brampton and Montreal.

"This closing was driven by our global asset utilization process which identified the opportunity to shift our production to other O-I North American facilities, resulting in lower energy consumption and production costs while still meeting current and anticipated market needs," stated Scott Murchison, president of the 24,000-employee company´s North America glass containers division.

"The market impacts of a strong Canadian dollar, high energy prices and the recent activities of the Liquor Control Board of Ontario were contributing factors."