Beverage canning company Ball Corporation announced the shuttering of two United States plants on Thursday. The closure follows months of consistent decline in the company’s stock price, as well as a more dramatic recent drop on Aug. 4.
Ball’s St. Paul, Minn., and Phoenix, Ariz. aluminum can manufacturing plants will close, Minnesota Public Radio reports. The closure in St. Paul is estimated to affect at least 110 employees at the Michigan manufacturing location.
Future plans for the facility have not been disclosed. The Colorado-based company, which employs 24,000 people worldwide, acquired the manufacturing property in 2016.
The corporation is also delaying plans to build a new production site in Las Vegas. In a press release, Ball Corporation does not name a timeline for the delay in the construction.
The corporation’s stock took a significant hit on Thursday, plunging by 15 percent after the announcement of plant closures. The company attributes the dip, as well as $174 million in second-quarter losses, to a decline in demand. Stark inflation and supply chain disruptions during the summer months created further challenges for its aluminum canning production.
To combat these challenges and contain losses, Ball Corporation instituted changes to its customer policies earlier this year. Order minimums were increased by 500 percent, as VinePair reports.
