About 121 employees will lose their jobs in Kent starting Feb. 29 with the planned closure of the Rexam Beverage Can Company, owned by, and also known as, the Ball Corporation.
The Ball facility is at 1220 Second Ave. N., just south of South 228th Street. The state Employment Security Department announced the closure Jan. 10 after it received a Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notice (WARN) from the company.
The expected beginning date of separations is Feb. 29 with the number of affected workers at 121 because of the closure, according to the notice.
Colorado-based Ball makes aluminum beverage cans at the Kent location.
According to a November 2023 report on packagingdive.com, Ball CEO Dan Fisher said the leased facility, which Ball gained in 2016 through the acquisition of Rexam, had two lines. He said the closure in the first half of 2024 should result in between $20 million and $30 million in cost savings in 2024, though some of those savings will be slightly offset by additional freight costs, he noted.
The company reported sales of cans were down in 2023, and partly blamed slower sales of Bud Light after some consumers boycotted the brand.
Ball, founded in 1880, is the leading global supplier of innovative, sustainable aluminum packaging for beverage and aerosol products, as well as aerospace and other technologies and services, according to its Facebook page. Ball sold the home canning business in the 1990s.
Ball employs more than 24,000 worldwide and has more than 100 locations, including the corporate headquarters in Westminster, Colorado.
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