WISCONSIN (From news reports) -- Kimberly-Clark Corp. remains noncommittal concerning state lawmakers' efforts to avoid its two plant closures in the Fox Cities, according to emails from the company.
Union negotiations will play a big role in its decisions going forward.
Gov. Scott Walker and state legislators sought to pass an incentive package -- similar to one offered to Foxconn Technology Group of Taiwan for its flat-screen plant in Racine County -- if K-C would keep its Cold Spring plant in Fox Crossing and its Neenah Nonwovens facility open, saving 600 jobs.
Assembly Bill 963 was approved in February in the Assembly, but stalled in the Senate last week, in part because senators said they didn't know if K-C would even take a deal. Conservative groups, meanwhile, criticized the legislation as a "troubling precedent."
The Senate sent the matter back to the Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation to monitor.
K-C hadn't commented on the legislation until now.
"We appreciate the efforts initiated by the governor and others in the state legislature, and we continue to evaluate the proposal from the WEDC with local union leaders," said K-C spokeswoman Andrea Hopkins.
"As such, we cannot speculate on the impact any incentives would have on our negotiations with the union. Any final decisions will be announced by the company after appropriate consultation and/or negotiations with the union and other labor stakeholders," she said.
K-C announced a global restructuring program Jan. 23 intended to generate annual cost savings of $500 million to $550 million by the end of 2021 by streamlining and simplifying its manufacturing supply chain and overhead organization. It said it was eliminating up to 5,500 jobs and closing or selling 10 plants.
K-C followed Jan. 31 with an announcement that the two Fox Cities plant closures would be part of the cost-savings program. The Neenah facility was slated to close in 18 months. An end date for Cold Spring was not given.
K-C's Hopkins also confirmed in an email that some salaried employees in the Fox Cities were offered buyouts, but she declined to reveal how many were offered and how many have accepted.
"As part of the company's previously announced global restructuring program, we offered a voluntary severance program to certain eligible employees in the U.S.," she said. "Beyond that, we cannot comment on specific numbers."
K-C is the third largest employer in the Fox Cities, said to have 3,200 employees here before the restructuring program.
"Kimberly-Clark remains committed to the community as one of the largest employers in the Fox Cities area, and Neenah will continue to be the headquarters for our North American consumer business," Hopkins said. "Our primary focus is our employees and we are committed to treating them fairly and respectfully."
Consumer analyst Brittany Weissman of Edward Jones in St. Louis follows K-C and said job reductions are part of the company's effort to be less complex, more efficient and more agile.
"They do call out that some of their cost savings will be workforce driven. It's difficult. But in the long-term, it makes sense for them," Weissman said. "They said they anticipate a reduction in headcount of 12 to 13 percent globally."
