Kimberly Clark Closing Different, Smaller WI Plant

Paper product-manufacturer Kimberly Clarke has notified the State of Wisconsin that it intends to close its plant in Neenah, Wisconsin at the end of May.  Seventy-four workers are expected to lose their job when the plant is finished operating.

The shutdown follows an economic "save" by the state earlier last year.  Kimberly Clark had made plans to shut down a nearby plant that employs 400 people; with legal and political maneuvering by then-Governor Scott Walker, the plant received a $28 million deal to save it.  The company has told news sources that it knew it intended to close this smaller plant in Neenah when it received the money from the state to save the other facility.

However, in order to keep the $28 million payment from the State of Wisconsin, the company will need to add jobs somewhere in the state; the agreement came with a stipulation that Kimberly Clark maintain employment for 2,418 people in Wisconsin; the reduction in their workforce by 74 people will bring them under that amount.