Tupperware Brands announced it would close its last remaining US factory in South Carolina and lay off more than 100 workers.
The iconic plastic food container maker plans to move all of its manufacturing operations to Mexico, where many of the products sold in the U.S. and Canada are already produced.
The Orlando-based company said the closure of its facility in the small town of Hemingway will result in the layoffs of 148 employees.
Layoffs will begin in September, with the closure date scheduled for Jan. 14, 2025. WCBD reported.
“It is important to note that this decision is not a reflection on the performance of the Hemingway team,” Tupperware said in a statement.
“We are grateful to each and every one of our valued team members and the service they have given to our sales team and the company over the years.”
Tupperware’s only U.S. manufacturing facility, the Hemingway plant, was sold in 2023.
Qualified employees will be offered severance pay and early retirement, and the company has also promised to match them with other companies.
Tupperware was founded in 1946 by Massachusetts chemist Earl Tupper, who developed the plastic containers to help families save money on expensive food waste, according to the company’s website.
The Hemingway facility opened in 1976 following high demand for their work.
But the 77-year-old company has recently fallen on hard times.
Earlier this year, the brand warned in an SEC filing that it had “high doubt” it would survive another year and predicted it would have insufficient liquidity to fund its operations.
Tupperware cited continuing material weaknesses in its internal controls over financial reporting, a challenging financial condition, and resource and skills gaps due to significant workforce attrition as reasons for multiple delays in filing its annual report.
The company also put itself at risk of being delisted from the New York Stock Exchange after it postponed its fiscal 2022 10-K filing and then filed an NT10-K on Friday to notify investors that it would postpone its fiscal 2023 10-K filing.
The company plans to file its 2023 10-K “as soon as practicable” and complete the due diligence process, but added that it “cannot guarantee the timing of when the filing will be completed.”
