HUTCHINSON, Kan. – A Hutchinson industry is closing its doors, leaving 116 people out of work. Employees of Sonoco Paper were informed Monday morning of plans to close the plant.
Sonoco officials have not yet responded to requests for comment from As Astra News.
Hutchinson Reno County Chamber of Commerce President Debra Teufel said Monday afternoon that state officials had been advised of the closing through a WARN notification, a federal requirement for mass layoffs, sent Friday.
Local officials had no advance warning of the closing. Teufel and several other local executives had toured the plant about a year ago and at the time “it was producing and going well, and they gave us no indication problems were looming,” Teufel said.
KansasWorks will be deploying a rapid response team to Hutchinson to assist employees impacted by the closing.
Teufel noted that due to another recent layoff in the community, the Chamber had put together a job seeker guide for employers hiring in Reno County along with a list of other resources. She said they want to let those impacted by the closing know that the state and community will surround them with the resources needed to find new employment.
Sonoco has operated the plant, which manufactured paperboard products, since purchasing it from Republic Group in 2001.
