About 270 jobs will be lost when Pyrex plant closes, many before Christmas

Bernie Sobek of Perryopolis had a job at the Charleroi glassmaking plant that appeared, on the surface at least, to last forever. After all, the plant has been making glass for about 130 years.

Sobek’s 44-year career at the Corelle Brands Inc. plant and its predecessors Anchor Hocking, Corning Glass and World Kitchen, however, will come to an end Feb. 17, when she and 25 others will lose their jobs.

About 270 workers will be out of a job because of the closing.

“I don’t know what to do,” said Sobek, 60, who has worked in maintenance, the assembly line and other positions at the plant.

The timing for when the jobs will be eliminated was revealed in Corelle Brands’ recent filing with the state to comply with the Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act.

The first round of layoffs begins with 173 jobs to be eliminated Dec. 9, followed by 60 more just five days before Christmas. Eleven workers will lose their jobs in two rounds of cuts Jan. 13 and 27.

The plant is closing because Corelle Brands is moving its Pyrex glass production to its plants in Lancaster, Ohio. Workers had expected as much because Corelle Brands announced in September the plant would close. Some of the equipment for glass production is expected to be transported to Ohio, workers said.

A spokesperson for Corelle Brands, which is owned by the private equity firm of Centre Lane Partners of New York City, did not respond to a request for comment.

As much as the Corelle plant is doomed to close early next year, Sobek said there is a glimmer of hope because there have been several representatives from foreign businesses who have looked at the plant for possible reuse.

“I am positive about it,” Sobek said, while admitting that there is a rumor mill among workers about what might happen to the plant.

April Sethman of North Belle Vernon, who has worked at the plant for some 25 years, already has decided what she will do when her job ends.

“I’m going to take some time off … visit my daughter and grandchild in North Carolina,” Sethman said.

“We’re pretty sad. It’s all corporate greed,” Sethman said of the plant closing.

Charleroi officials had stressed the importance of the plant to the town’s economy. The plant provided good-paying jobs and benefits. Many of the employees at the plant had worked at the facility for decades. And there have been generations of the same family who toiled at the plant.

The full impact of the closing has yet to be determined by Charleroi officials, Borough Manager Joe Manning said.

The borough received real estate taxes and earned income taxes from the plant. The Charleroi municipal authority, which provides water and sewer service to the plant, stands to lose $20,000 a month in revenue from the shutdown, Manning said.

Then there’s the likelihood Corelle Brands will appeal its tax reassessment once it abandons production at the plant and the value of the property drops.

The scheduled closing of the plant comes on the heels of another local employer, Quality Pasta, announcing in September it was ceasing operations and eliminating 80 jobs.

A manufacturing company has contacted the borough about the possibility of using the plant, Manning said.

Several workers talked about how representatives from foreign businesses have toured the plant, indicating an interest in acquiring the facility.

“We are hoping to be proactive for someone to take over the site so it does not lie dormant,” Manning said.

Plant closing talks

Negotiations on the impact of the plant closing on the members of the United Steelworkers at the plant is continuing, said James Watt, a staff representative for the USW. The company has not offered the union-represented workers severance pay, according to Watt.

About 150 of the plant’s workers could have the opportunity to relocate to Lancaster, Ohio, the company said. Some employees traveled to Lancaster, which is near Columbus and about 170 miles from Charleroi, to see the community, along with housing and the school system, Watt added.

But several workers who spoke to TribLive said they did not intend to relocate to Ohio and instead will look for work in the region.

During negotiations with company officials this fall, Watt said there was no indication they were willing to keep the plant open, even if the union offered contract concessions.

The governor’s Rapid Response Team has been involved in efforts to save the plant, Watt said. The company officials, however, showed no interest in working with the union or the government on keeping the plant open in Charleroi, the USW representative said.

To help those workers who will be losing their jobs, Watt said, the Southwest Corner Workforce Investment Board for Washington, Greene and Beaver counties has earmarked about $300,000 to PA CareerLink to help with workforce training and other assistance.

The USW also is working with U.S. Sens. John Fetterman and Bob Casey to look into the circumstances surrounding Centre Lane Partners’ acquisition of the plant.

Casey’s office said in a report the Federal Trade Commission and the Department of Justice must fully investigate the tactics Centre Lane used; he claims it might have evaded oversight from regulators. Regulators also should review whether Centre Lanes’ increasing share of the kitchenware and specifically the domestic glassware market gives an unfair monopolistic advantage in those markets.