Tupperware Brands Moving All Production South
June 18, 2024 – Tupperware, the brand renowned for its plastic food containers, is closing its last US manufacturing plant in Hemingway, South Carolina. The 78-year-old company plans to relocate production to Lerma, Mexico to capitalize on cheaper labor costs.
Layoffs will begin in September. The last US plant will close for good in January 2025.
Tupperware said in a statement that it sold the Hemingway plant last year and plans to transition operations to Lerma, Mexico, noting that most of its products sold in the U.S. and Canada are already made at that plant.
“It’s important to note this decision is not a reflection of the performance of the Hemingway team,” Tupperware said in the statement. “We appreciate each of our valued team members and the many years of service they have dedicated to our salesforce and to the Company.”
Founded in 1946 by chemist Earl Tupper, the company revolutionized household food storage with its airtight plastic containers. Tupperware quickly became a household name, especially through its innovative sales strategy of home parties, where suburban housewives would gather to buy and sell the products. The Hemingway plant, opened in April 1976, has produced billions of Tupperware products over its 48-year history.
The statement added that eligible employees impacted by the layoffs will be offered severance packages and early retirement, as well as the opportunity to connect with other businesses at an upcoming job fair.
Tupperware, based in Orlando, Florida, has faced a series of struggles in recent years.
In 2020, the company initiated a turnaround plan and has been trying to execute goals including improving profitability, strengthening its balance sheet and restructuring its debt, ever since.
However, in a Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) filing in April 2023, Tupperware said that “The Company has concluded that there is substantial doubt about its ability to continue as a going concern for at least one year from the expected issuance date of its Form 10-K financial statements.”
Tupperware appointed a new CEO, Laurie Ann Goldman, in October.
