Owens-Illinois to close bay area glass plant

The 394,000 square-foot facility located on Hathaway Avenue has been out of production since June of this year when it experienced a major leak in its only glass furnace.

The plant will officially close in November.

Glass containers formerly manufactured at the Hayward plant will be manufactured at company facilities in nearby Oakland and Tracy, and at other company facilities.

The Toledo,Ohio-headquartered company said it will work with the unions to help place employees in positions at other Owens-Illinois facilities and with government agencies to help employees obtain unemployment benefits and search for new jobs.

Company officials met recently with employees and labor union officials at the plant, informing them of the decision. Approximately 170 employees will be affected.

After closing the Hayward facility, Owens-Illinois (O-I) will have 24 glass container manufacturing plants in North America, 18 of which are in the US.

The Hayward facility opened in 1949 and was acquired by Owens-Brockway, a subsidiary of Owens-Illinois, in 1997. The plant produced glass containers primarily for the wine industry.

Owens-Illinois is the largest manufacturer of glass containers in the US, Canada, Mexico, South America, Australia and New Zealand, and one of the largest in the European Union.

O-I also is a worldwide manufacturer of plastics packaging with operations in North America, South America, Europe, Australia and New Zealand.

Plastics packaging products manufactured by O-I include consumer products such as blow-molded containers, injection molded closures and dispensing systems, and prescription containers.