Lowville- Employees of Climax Packaging in Lowville were notified at a
    meeting this afternoon, at the Lowville Fire Hall, that the plant would be closing
    effective immediately.

    We were on scene for the 2 PM meeting, which was deemed private and for
    employees only. Reporters were asked to leave. We spoke to many employees
    as they were leaving the meeting, who all stated the same thing- that they were
    told the plant was being closed, effective immediately. The employees were
    told that the plant just couldn't afford to remain in operation, and a sale to an
    outside company fell through.

    A representative of the United Steelworkers Union, which represents many of
    the workers, was in attendance at the meeting and told linkinglewiscounty.com
    that some of the information the employees were told, including the immediate
    loss of health insure, may not be true based on their current labor agreement.  
    Lawyers from the union are currently reviewing their options we were told, as
    they just learned of the closing today as well.

    Sources say that the employees are not conceding, with the number one goal
    being to see the plant run again. They are even looking into the possibility of a
    partial ESOP(Employee Stock Ownership Program) for the plant, although they
    were told some equipment may have been sold already to a company in
    Massachusetts.

    No official WARN (Worker Adjustment and Training Notification) was filed with
    the NYS Department of Labor, which usually requires an employer to provide a
    90 notice before a closure of this nature, although there are a few exceptions in
    place to provide exemptions for a WARN notice.

    An official from Climax told us that a press release would be issued at some
    point after the meeting, which we will share if received.

    The plant employed approximately 160 people.

    Calls to the plant have not been immediately returned. We also have requests
    out to various county and village officials for comment. We will be updating this
    developing story as information is received.
Climax Packaging in Lowville to Close
Immediately According to Employees
04/01/16 03:30pm  Updated 5:30pm
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Employees of Climax Packaging at the Lowville Fire Hall on Friday Afternoon