McKinley Paper, Ardagh Glass prepare for layoffs in Washington

A McKinley Paper mill in Port Angeles, Washington, and an Ardagh Glass plant in Seattle each intend to make permanent workforce layoffs, according to two separate Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification (WARN) listings.

The WARN announcements, required by the U.S. Department of Labor in some instances, show McKinley Paper laying off 190 employees at its recycled-content paperboard mill. In Seattle, the 244 layoffs at the Ardagh recycled-content glass bottle plant are classified as temporary.

The McKinley site is owned by Mexico-based Bio Pappel, which purchased the site in 2017 and made investments in equipment before reopening it in 2019.

“We consider that Bio Pappel is one of the companies best positioned to insert competitively into a new business environment where international paradigms are changing,” Miguel Rincon, the company’s general director and board chair, said when announcing the purchase.

“McKinley will convert the production of this plant to its business line to efficiently integrate it with its current operations in the U.S., which will allow it to strengthen its presence and competitiveness,” a Bio Pappel March 2017 news release read in part.

The Ardagh Seattle plant is one of several operated in the United States by the Ireland-based firm.

According to Ardagh, in the western U.S., glass bottles it manufactured in 2023 for the U.S. wine market used approximately 39 percent recycled content.