Procter & Gamble to close plant in Kansas City, make cuts in Iowa City

Alexander Coolidge | Cincinnati Enquirer

Show Caption Hide Caption Former faces of Cincinnati's Procter & Gamble Cincinnati's Procter & Gamble has been a fixture of the community for nearly 200 years, breeding innovation, attracting top talent and providing jobs for the region.

CINCINNATI — Procter & Gamble will close its Kansas City factory and cut back operations in Iowa City as it shifts production to a giant new factory in West Virginia as well as Cincinnati, the company said Wednesday.

The changes will be completed in 2020 and will affect 280 full-time workers in Kansas City and 500 workers in Iowa City. About 700 workers will remain in Iowa City where P&G operates two factories.

Cincinnati won't see a significant influx of plant jobs with local workers absorbing the additional production duties, while 200 Kansas City jobs will shift to West Virginia, P&G officials said.

The Kansas City factory, opened in 1905, makes Dawn, Gain, Ivory and Joy hand dish washing detergents. The affected Iowa plant, opened in 1956, makes Pantene, Head & Shoulders, Aussie, Herbal Essences shampoos and conditioners; Olay, Ivory, Old Spice and Gillette body washes; Scope and Crest Oral Rinse.

P&G pledged to work with local workers to transition, whether at other company locations or with another employer. While P&G sold off most of its manufacturing operations at Ivorydale in St. Bernard in the early 2000s, it still operates a chemical production plant at the complex that employs about 100 workers.

Since 2013, P&G has closed or sold 12 U.S. factories as part of its ongoing restructuring efforts.

P&G disclosed a detailed list of changes:

— The company will transfer production of dish care business from Kansas City, Kansas to the new facility at Tabler Station, West Virginia. This is planned to be complete by mid-2020 with the plant closing late that year.

— The company will transfer production of chemicals ingredients business from Kansas City to the Ivorydale chemicals plant in St. Bernard.

— P&G will transfer production of hair care (shampoo and conditioner) and personal cleansing (body wash) businesses from Iowa City, Iowa to the new facility at Tabler Station, West Virginia. These transfers will be completed in late 2020. Oral Rinse production will remain at the existing site in Iowa City.

— As a result of these decisions, the Tabler Station, West Virginia factory will increase from 700 to 900 by 2020.

The latest closures come amid the P&G plans to begin production at a large factory in West Virginia – the new plant is 2 million square feet or twice the size of the Kenwood Towne Centre.

The company has outlined plans to move domestic production to fewer, but larger and more versatile factories in the U.S. Besides building the West Virginia plant, P&G has expanded and shifted more production to exisiting factories, including its detergent operations in Lima, Ohio.

"Decisions like this are never easy, but we are communicating this decision more than two years in advance to help our employees plan for the future," P&G said Wednesday in a statement. "We are committed to supporting P&G people through the transition in a manner consistent with our values and principles."

P&G said the changes are part of a North American review of production operations that began in 2013.

After completing a $10 billion cost-cutting drive, in 2016 CEO David Taylor announced a second campaign to slash another $10 billion in operating costs. A large chunk of those planned savings will come from production costs as the company shifts manufacturing to newer, more automated factories that make a wider variety of P&G brands.

Last year, P&G said it would close a plant in Ontario by 2021 and in recent years the company has announced the closure of factories in New Jersey, Georgia and Puerto Rico. P&G has also jettisoned several plants in the U.S. and Europe through its recent brand sales.

The company sold off 15 factories worldwide as part of its brand-shedding that removed Iams pet food, Duracell batteries, and CoverGirl makeup among more than 100 slower-selling labels.