MEMPHIS, Tenn. (News release) -- International Paper announced the closure of its packaging facilities in Compton, California and Louisville, Kentucky. The facilities will cease operations by January 2026. All customers will be serviced from other nearby locations.

The Compton facility closure will impact 125 employees, while the Louisville facility closure will impact 93 employees. The company will work to minimize the impact on employees by using attrition, retirements and current vacancies at other International Paper locations. Team members at these locations will receive outplacement assistance, access to mental health support resources and severance benefits.

"Making the decision to close a facility is incredibly difficult, especially knowing the impact it has on our team members and their families," said Tom Hamic, executive vice president and president, North American Packaging Solutions, International Paper. "We are sincerely grateful for the contributions of our departing team members, and we are fully committed to supporting them through this transition."

Including the California and Kentucky closures -- and this week's announcement of five planned closures in Germany to affect 500 people -- the streamlining has affected at least 4,585 employees since October 2024. International Paper reported in an annual securities filing that as of Dec. 31, 2024 -- prior to the DS Smith acquisition -- it had approximately 37,000 employees; that's down from the roughly 39,000 it reported as of December 2023.

International Paper is undergoing a transformational journey to become a stronger sustainable packaging solutions company. A critical step in this journey is to streamline IP's footprint to focus investments on facilities that will best serve customers and accelerate strategic initiatives to improve quality, reliability and service delivery.