2 companies announce facility closures in Oconomowoc, Prairie du Chien

Two different employers announced facility closures in Oconomowoc and Prairie du Chien, which are expected to leave 100 workers out of a job.

California-based metal can maker Silgan Containers Manufacturing Corp. filed a layoff notice with the state Wednesday, telling state officials that it plans to close one of its facilities in Oconomowoc that employs 56 people. 

According to the notice, layoffs are expected to start around July 21. The plant will run with limited production into August or later. The workers affected by the closure include 46 hourly and 10 salaried employees, with positions ranging from can line mechanic to plant manager, according to the notice.

The notice also said production “volumes will be absorbed by other Silgan facilities.” Silgan has several other sites in southeast Wisconsin, including a technology center Oconomowoc and manufacturing plants in Menomonee Falls and Kenosha.

The announcement comes after Silgan and 20 other companies in the food processing or steel can-making industry sent a letter to the Trump administration on Feb. 4 seeking protections from tariffs.

The letter said nine tin mill steel plants had closed since President Donald Trump first enacted tariffs on steel and aluminum in 2018. The letter said the companies import at least 70 percent of the steel they use to make cans that help feed 330 million Americans. 

Days after the letter was sent, Trump announced he would remove past exemptions to 2018 tariffs on steel, bringing tariffs on all steel imports up to 25 percent beginning on March 12.

Silgan did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Meanwhile, Truvant North America, a North Carolina-based packaging and containers manufacturing company, filed a layoff notice with the state on May 15. The notice said Truvant is closing one of its facilities in Prairie du Chien “due to changing business circumstances.”

According to the notice, 44 of the 74 employees who work at or report to the facility will be laid off. The notice said 30 employees accepted offers to transfer to other company facilities, each within 4 or 30 miles of the closing plant.

Truvant’s layoffs are expected to begin around July 15, the expected closure date for the plant, according to the notice. The notice said separation dates may fluctuate. Truvant declined to comment.

Wisconsin has had near-record-low unemployment for the last few years. The statewide unemployment rate was 3.3 percent in April, the most recent month with available data.

In Waukesha County, home to the city of Oconomowoc, the unemployment rate in April was 2.9 percent, according to state data. Meanwhile, in Crawford County, home of Prairie du Chien, the unemployment rate was 4 percent in April, state data shows.