Factory Fallout: Manufacturing layoffs from Polaris, Thermo Fisher, Sealed Air and more

With political winds changing and global markets tightening, manufacturers are making tough decisions—and workers are feeling the impact. In this roundup, we chronicle the closures and cutbacks reverberating throughout the manufacturing sector. As uncertainty becomes the new normal, we examine how businesses and workers alike are navigating a rapidly changing industrial landscape.

Baxter will cut its McDowell County, North Carolina workforce by about 90 jobs, according to reporting from local news source FOX Carolina. The company’s sterile IV fluids factory there was hit by Hurricane Helene in 2024, and company officials reportedly said that supply disruptions from the plant’s temporary closure led to a lower stabilized demand. The 90 workers laid off represents about 3% of the site’s total workforce.

Sealed Air filed a WARN notice in California that it plans to lay off 51 people from its City of Industry location there. The packaging company operates a testing lab and recycling center at the site. Layoffs, according to the WARN notice, will start April 30 and continue through the end of the year.

Alpek Polyester, a plastics producer and recycler, issued a WARN report in Pennsylvania that it would close its Pottsville Pike, Reading, Pennsylvania factory and lay off all 100 employees there effective March 15 this year. According to the company’s website, the location planned for closure produces recycled plastic from polyethylene terephthalate.

Thermo Fisher Scientific, following closures in North Carolina, is also closing down another site in Franklin, Massachusetts. According to reporting from Fierce Pharma citing a company spokesperson and a WARN report, the 200-employee site is one of two in the area and manufactures environmental and process monitoring products.  

Polaris announced January 28 that it would close down its Osceola, Wisconsin motorcycle engine factory as part of a decision to sell its majority stake in the Indian Motorcycle brand to Carolwood LP, a private equity firm, Wisconsin Public Radio reports. Workers were reportedly notified last week. Though the company has not filed a WARN report, reporting from the Minnesota Star Tribune indicates the move will result in the layoff of 200 employees at the motorcycle and snowmobile engine facility as production moves to an existing factory in Spirit Lake, Iowa.