After a long period of negotiations, Kimberly Clark has announced the closing of its Conway plant. This will come at the cost of at least 350 jobs, as the plant phases out over the course of the next two years, ending officially in 2021. The announcement was released on the heels of an announcement regarding a deal reached between Kimberly Clark and Governor Scott Walker of Wisconsin. Walker promised the company a $28 million incentive package to keep a Wisconsin Kimberly Clark plant open.
This was not an unexpected event, as the company warned of possible closure as early as July in the wake of a company-wide restructuring, which will include the dissolution of some 5,000 jobs. The 600 employees at the Wisconsin plant may not be able to rest easy either due to this radical restructuring.
In the months leading up to the closing, the Conway Area Chamber of Commerce, the Arkansas Economic Development Commission, and Governor Asa Hutchinson promised an “aggressive incentives package,” though that bid ultimately fell short.
Brandi Hinkle, director of communications for A.E.D.C., said that no one should fear the closure of the Maumelle Kimberly Clark plant. She said with regards to the incentives package assembled by Arkansas that “… the state of Arkansas, local government, has done everything within its power to keep the plant together. We put together a very aggressive incentives package but we were not going to compete with what Wisconsin put together.” Hinkle did emphasize that, “These are not just numbers to us. These are real people with families who have obligations and responsibilities, and we want to help keep them employed.”
READ MORE: Op-Ed: Arkansas Works to Keep Kimberly Clark Plant Open
Clint O’Neal, the executive vice president of Global Business of the AEDC, said that one advantage may have been present in the Wisconsin package. “The Wisconsin facility is a unionized plant. That puts them at a great risk. If they have one open plant that is unionized, they’re one strike away from not having the product sent out the door.”
As of yet, the details of that incentives package have not been more specific than “aggressive.”
Though the Conway Area Chamber of Commerce did not necessarily expect the closure of the plant, it anticipated it, as the chamber has made preparations to aid in the employment search for all laid-off employees. According to Jamie Gates, the vice-president of the chamber, “On our side, we start immediately marketing first the available and talented workforce in the industrial recruitment industry. When people know that there may be skilled talent coming available, that can drive interest.”
Upon the failure of the Arkansas incentive campaign, Governor Hutchinson released the following statement: “We have all worked very aggressively to retain the Kimberly Clark Conway facility jobs. I am disappointed for the Conway workers and families that the company made the decision to close the Conway facility. It appears the historic ties of the company with Wisconsin along with Union wage cuts and cash incentives from the state tilted the balance in favor of Wisconsin.”
Hutchinson did state that there should be hope for those affected by the closing. “The central Arkansas labor market has thousands of job openings and I am directing my Department of Workforce Services to provide maximum assistance to Kimberly Clark employees in any needed training or job location assistance.”
READ MORE: Kimberly Clark Plant is Closing
