O-I France Proposes Strategic Business Transformation
O-I Glass has announced a strategic transformation initiative called 'Fit to Win' in France, responding to significant market challenges including a wine market slowdown, overcapacity, and strong competition. The company has initiated consultation with employee representatives regarding potential operational adjustments at multiple plants:
- Possible operational changes at Gironcourt, Puy-Guillaume, and Reims plants
- Potential shutdown of one furnace at Vayres plant
- Potential closure of Vergèze plant
- Possible resizing of administrative functions at French headquarters
These changes could result in a net impact of approximately 320 positions. The company plans a multi-million Euro investment in French plants as part of its 2025 capital plan, aiming to strengthen its position in France, which remains a strategic market.
O-I Glass ha annunciato un'iniziativa di trasformazione strategica chiamata 'Fit to Win' in Francia, in risposta a significative sfide di mercato, tra cui il rallentamento del mercato del vino, l'eccesso di capacità e la forte concorrenza. L'azienda ha avviato consultazioni con i rappresentanti dei dipendenti riguardo a potenziali aggiustamenti operativi in diversi stabilimenti:
- Possibili cambiamenti operativi negli stabilimenti di Gironcourt, Puy-Guillaume e Reims
- Possibile chiusura di un forno nello stabilimento di Vayres
- Possibile chiusura dello stabilimento di Vergèze
- Possibile ridimensionamento delle funzioni amministrative presso la sede centrale francese
Questi cambiamenti potrebbero avere un impatto netto di circa 320 posti di lavoro. L'azienda prevede un investimento di milioni di Euro negli stabilimenti francesi come parte del suo piano di capitale per il 2025, con l'obiettivo di rafforzare la propria posizione in Francia, che rimane un mercato strategico.
O-I Glass ha anunciado una iniciativa de transformación estratégica llamada 'Fit to Win' en Francia, en respuesta a importantes desafíos del mercado, incluyendo una desaceleración en el mercado del vino, sobrecapacidad y fuerte competencia. La empresa ha iniciado consultas con representantes de los empleados sobre posibles ajustes operativos en varias plantas:
- Cambios operativos posibles en las plantas de Gironcourt, Puy-Guillaume y Reims
- Cierre potencial de un horno en la planta de Vayres
- Cierre potencial de la planta de Vergèze
- Redimensionamiento posible de las funciones administrativas en la sede central francesa
Estos cambios podrían resultar en un impacto neto de aproximadamente 320 puestos de trabajo. La empresa planea una inversión de varios millones de euros en las plantas francesas como parte de su plan de capital para 2025, con el objetivo de fortalecer su posición en Francia, que sigue siendo un mercado estratégico.
O-I Glass는 프랑스에서 'Fit to Win'이라는 전략적 변혁 이니셔티브를 발표하며, 와인 시장 둔화, 과잉 생산능력, 강한 경쟁 등 중요한 시장 도전에 대응하고 있습니다. 회사는 여러 공장에서의 잠재적인 운영 조정에 대해 직원 대표와 상담을 시작했습니다:
- Gironcourt, Puy-Guillaume 및 Reims 공장에서의 가능한 운영 변경
- Vayres 공장에서 하나의 용광로 폐쇄 가능성
- Vergèze 공장 폐쇄 가능성
- 프랑스 본사에서의 행정 기능 축소 가능성
이러한 변화는 약 320개 일자리에 대한 순 영향을 초래할 수 있습니다. 회사는 2025년 자본 계획의 일환으로 프랑스 공장에 수백만 유로를 투자할 계획이며, 프랑스에서의 입지를 강화하는 것을 목표로 하고 있습니다. 프랑스는 여전히 전략적인 시장입니다.
O-I Glass a annoncé une initiative de transformation stratégique appelée 'Fit to Win' en France, en réponse à d'importants défis du marché, y compris un ralentissement du marché du vin, une surcapacité et une forte concurrence. L'entreprise a engagé des consultations avec les représentants des employés concernant d'éventuels ajustements opérationnels dans plusieurs usines :
- Changements opérationnels possibles dans les usines de Gironcourt, Puy-Guillaume et Reims
- Fermeture potentielle d'un four à l'usine de Vayres
- Fermeture potentielle de l'usine de Vergèze
- Redimensionnement possible des fonctions administratives au siège français
Ces changements pourraient entraîner un impact net d'environ 320 postes. L'entreprise prévoit un investissement de plusieurs millions d'euros dans les usines françaises dans le cadre de son plan de capital pour 2025, visant à renforcer sa position en France, qui reste un marché stratégique.
O-I Glass hat eine strategische Transformationsinitiative mit dem Namen 'Fit to Win' in Frankreich angekündigt, um auf erhebliche Marktherausforderungen zu reagieren, einschließlich einer Verlangsamung des Weinmarktes, Überkapazitäten und starker Konkurrenz. Das Unternehmen hat Gespräche mit den Arbeitnehmervertretern über mögliche betriebliche Anpassungen in mehreren Werken aufgenommen:
- Mögliche betriebliche Änderungen in den Werken Gironcourt, Puy-Guillaume und Reims
- Potenzielle Stilllegung eines Ofens im Werk Vayres
- Potenzielle Schließung des Werks Vergèze
- Mögliche Anpassung der Verwaltungsfunktionen am französischen Hauptsitz
Diese Änderungen könnten einen Nettobeitrag von etwa 320 Stellen zur Folge haben. Das Unternehmen plant eine Investition in Höhe von mehreren Millionen Euro in französische Werke im Rahmen seines Investitionsplans für 2025, um seine Position in Frankreich, einem strategischen Markt, zu stärken.
- Multi-million Euro investment planned in French facilities
- Strategic initiative to improve long-term competitiveness and operational flexibility
- Potential closure of Vergèze plant
- Planned reduction of approximately 320 positions
- Shutdown of one furnace at Vayres plant
- Declining wine market affecting operations
- Market challenges including overcapacity and strong competition
Insights
O-I's Fit to Win initiative represents a textbook restructuring response to structural overcapacity in the French glass market. The targeted operational adjustments across multiple facilities (Gironcourt, Puy-Guillaume, Reims) combined with the potential furnace shutdown at Vayres and possible Vergèze plant closure follow classic capacity rationalization strategy.
The net reduction of approximately 320 positions is relatively modest considering the scope of restructuring, suggesting targeted efficiency improvements rather than drastic downsizing. What's noteworthy is O-I's balanced approach – cutting capacity while simultaneously planning multi-million Euro investments in remaining French operations.
This dual strategy indicates O-I is optimizing its manufacturing footprint rather than retreating from the market. Glass manufacturing economics depend heavily on capacity utilization rates – operating furnaces at higher utilization improves unit economics significantly. By consolidating production into fewer, more efficient facilities, O-I can potentially improve margins while maintaining necessary production volume.
The company's focus on increasing agility and flexibility suggests potential manufacturing process improvements beyond simple capacity reduction. This could involve modernizing remaining facilities to handle more diverse product runs with faster changeovers – essential capabilities in today's more fragmented beverage market where batch sizes are decreasing while SKU counts rise.
O-I's strategic restructuring in France represents a necessary response to persistent market headwinds in a key European market. The French wine industry's slowdown creates a direct volume impact for glass packaging, forcing this capacity rationalization to align supply with reduced demand.
The financial implications are mixed. Near-term, O-I will likely incur one-time restructuring charges related to severance, asset write-downs, and potential facility closure costs. However, these should be partially offset by the planned multi-million Euro investments, which qualify under their previously announced 2025 capital plan (suggesting these expenditures were already factored into guidance).
Longer-term, this restructuring should improve capacity utilization rates across remaining French operations, enhancing fixed-cost absorption and operating margins. The focus on making glass "more competitive" indicates a strategic emphasis on cost structure improvement rather than merely downsizing.
From a market perspective, reducing industry overcapacity should eventually support healthier pricing dynamics. The 320 position reduction represents meaningful but manageable workforce optimization that should yield sustainable labor cost benefits.
Given the challenging market conditions described, these moves appear prudent rather than reactive, demonstrating management's willingness to make difficult decisions to preserve long-term competitiveness in a strategic market facing structural challenges.
Perrysburg, Ohio, April 08, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- -- Over the past few years, the glass market in France has been considerably challenged, primarily due to a slow-down in the wine market. This slow-down, combined with overcapacity and strong competition, has prompted the company to consider additional actions to improve its long-term competitiveness.
To face these challenges and adapt to an increasingly complex market, O-I has announced a strategic initiative, Fit to Win, aimed at ensuring the sustainability of its business in the long-term and improving the agility and flexibility of its operations to make glass more competitive and widely available.
As part of this initiative, the company has initiated an information and consultation process with its European and French employee representatives. The consultation focuses on possible operational adjustments at its plants in Gironcourt, Puy-Guillaume, and Reims, and the potential cessation of production of one furnace at its plant in Vayres, the potential closure of the Vergèze plant, and the potential resizing of administrative functions at its French headquarters.
The company is also considering a multi-million Euro investment in its French plants in line with its previously announced 2025 capital plan. The company expects these investments in its French plants will support the development of the use of glass and strengthen O-I's position as a major player and employer in France, which remains a strategic market for the company.
The actions under consideration could potentially result in a net impact of approximately 320 positions, accounting for vacant, created, and eliminated of positions. The company intends to carry out any such plan transparently and responsibly for any potentially impacted employees and in consultation with the various representative bodies and relevant authorities.
ABOUT O-I GLASS
At O-I Glass, Inc. (NYSE: OI), we love glass, and we are proud to be one of the leading producers of glass bottles and jars around the globe. Glass is not only beautiful, it is also pure, healthy, and completely recyclable, making it the most sustainable rigid packaging material. Headquartered in Perrysburg, Ohio (USA), O-I is the preferred partner for many of the world’s leading food and beverage brands. We innovate in line with customers’ needs to create iconic packaging that builds brands around the world. Led by our diverse team of approximately 21,000 people across 69 plants in 19 countries, O-I achieved revenues of
FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS
This press release contains “forward-looking” statements related to O-I Glass, Inc. (“O-I Glass” or the “company”) within the meaning of Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the “Exchange Act”) and Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended. Forward-looking statements reflect the company’s current expectations and projections about future events at the time, and thus involve uncertainty and risk. The words “believe,” “expect,” “anticipate,” “will,” “could,” “would,” “should,” “may,” “plan,” “estimate,” “intend,” “predict,” “potential,” “continue,” “target,” “commit,” and the negatives of these words and other similar expressions generally identify forward-looking statements.
It is possible that the Company’s future financial performance may differ from expectations due to a variety of factors including, but not limited to the following: (1) the company’s ability to achieve expected benefits from cost management, efficiency improvements, and profitability initiatives, such as its Fit to Win program, including expected impacts from production curtailments, reduction in force and furnace closures, (2) the general political, economic and competitive conditions in markets and countries where the company has operations, including uncertainties related to economic and social conditions, trade disputes, disruptions in the supply chain, competitive pricing pressures, inflation or deflation, changes in tax rates, changes in laws or policies, war, civil disturbance or acts of terrorism, natural disasters, public health issues and weather, (3) cost and availability of raw materials, labor, energy and transportation (including impacts related to the current Ukraine-Russia and Israel-Hamas conflicts and disruptions in supply of raw materials caused by transportation delays), (4) competitive pressures from other glass container producers and alternative forms of packaging or consolidation among competitors and customers, (5) changes in consumer preferences or customer inventory management practices, (6) the continuing consolidation of the company’s customer base, (7) the company’s ability to improve its glass melting technology, known as the MAGMA program, and implement it in a manner to deliver economic profit within the timeframe expected in addition to successfully achieving key production and commercial milestones, (8) unanticipated supply chain and operational disruptions, including higher capital spending, (9) seasonality of customer demand, (10) the failure of the company’s joint venture partners to meet their obligations or commit additional capital to the joint venture, (11) labor shortages, labor cost increases or strikes, (12) the company’s ability to acquire or divest businesses, acquire and expand plants, integrate operations of acquired businesses and achieve expected benefits from acquisitions, divestitures or expansions, (13) the company’s ability to generate sufficient future cash flows to ensure the company’s goodwill is not impaired, (14) any increases in the underfunded status of the company’s pension plans, (15) any failure or disruption of the company’s information technology, or those of third parties on which the company relies, or any cybersecurity or data privacy incidents affecting the company or its third-party service providers, (16) risks related to the company’s indebtedness or changes in capital availability or cost, including interest rate fluctuations and the ability of the company to generate cash to service indebtedness and refinance debt on favorable terms, (17) risks associated with operating in foreign countries, (18) foreign currency fluctuations relative to the U.S. dollar, (19) changes in tax laws or global trade policies, (20) the company’s ability to comply with various environmental legal requirements, (21) risks related to recycling and recycled content laws and regulations, (22) risks related to climate-change and air emissions, including related laws or regulations and increased ESG scrutiny and changing expectations from stakeholders, and the other risk factors discussed in the Company's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
It is not possible to foresee or identify all such factors. Any forward-looking statements in this document are based on certain assumptions and analyses made by the Company in light of its experience and perception of historical trends, current conditions, expected future developments, and other factors it believes are appropriate in the circumstances. Forward-looking statements are not a guarantee of future performance and actual results or developments may differ materially from expectations. While the Company continually reviews trends and uncertainties affecting the Company’s results of operations and financial condition, the Company does not assume any obligation to update or supplement any particular forward-looking statements contained in this document.
James.Woods@o-i.com
FAQ
What is O-I Glass's Fit to Win initiative in France and why was it announced?
How many jobs will be affected by O-I's French restructuring plan?
Which O-I Glass plants in France are affected by the transformation plan?
What investments is O-I planning for its French operations?
