Ball to halt production at Virginia plant

Ball Corporation will cease production at the company’s Virginia, US, beverage packaging end-making plant during the second quarter of 2016. The plant’s capacity will be supplied by other Ball facilities.
Ball expects to record a total after-tax charge of approximately $19 million, primarily for employee severance and benefits, facility shut down costs and other actions. The majority of the charge is expected to be recorded in the third quarter of 2015.

“This action will better align our manufacturing footprint to meet the needs of our customers as we actively manage our overall cost structure,” says Daniel W. Fisher, president, North American metal beverage packaging. “Closing a plant is a difficult decision. We compete against plastic, glass and metal packaging in a highly competitive market, and we will continue to maximize value in our existing operations through optimizing our network, as well as expanding into new and growing products, capabilities and markets to meet the needs of our customers.”