Middletown Packaging Plant to Close, Eliminating 91 Jobs

Packaging Corporation of America will eliminate 91 positions at its Middletown, Ohio packaging plant, with workers' final day set for December 1, per a WARN notice filed Thursday with the Ohio Department of Job & Family Services. The company plans to fully vacate the 1824 Baltimore Street facility by year's end.

Why is PCA pulling out of Middletown?

In a letter addressed to Middletown's mayor and Butler County commissioners, PCA attributed the closure to consolidation into "larger and more efficient operations" elsewhere — specifically, a new $275 million plant that opened just outside Columbus this summer.

"PCA will collaborate with you and all other state and local government officials — including the Department of Job & Family Services — to provide dislocated worker assistance to the affected employees," the letter read. "We will also assist any affected employees who may be interested in transferring to another PCA location with open positions."

The correspondence closed: "This was a difficult business decision; it is in no way a reflection of the hard work and dedication of our valued employees."

What does the closure add up to in Ohio's labor market?

The Middletown notice lands on top of an already contracting industrial base. A Navistar truck plant in Springfield shuttered the same week, eliminating more than 1,400 jobs. Together, the two announcements remove roughly 1,500 manufacturing positions from Ohio payrolls in seven days.

Bureau of Labor Statistics data show Ohio employs about 23,500 fewer people now than in October 2024 — a two-year contraction that, for affected workers, narrows the immediate pool of comparable openings inside their trade.

How can unemployment be falling at the same time?

Ohio's official rate, counted as people actively looking for work, has dropped to 3.3%. That marks the state's historic low and a long way down from the 16.5% peak recorded early in the COVID-19 pandemic.

The gap matters for displaced hourly workers. A falling rate alongside shrinking payrolls usually signals a contracting labor force rather than expanding employer demand. Workers leaving a closed plant typically compete for fewer advertised roles than the headline rate suggests, even in adjacent counties with similar print-low rates.

What support flows from the WARN filing?

The ODJFS filing makes the 91 affected employees eligible for state dislocated-worker services. PCA committed in its letter to work with local officials and the state agency on those services, alongside any internal transfers the company can facilitate.

Watch for ODJFS to publish the formal WARN notice on its public dashboard in coming days, and for adjacent logistics and packaging employers in Butler County to recalibrate hiring as one of their larger local customers winds down operations through year-end.