Smurfit Westrock to close two U.S. mills and two German plants, affecting 650 jobs
Smurfit Westrock plc said it will permanently close its coated recycled board mill in St. Paul, Minnesota, stop production at its containerboard mill in Forney, Texas, and begin consultations with German works councils to close two converting facilities. The closures affect about 650 employees and are expected to reduce containerboard and CRB capacity by over 500,000 tons annualized. The company expects about $99 million in pre-tax cash charges and about $188 million in pre-tax non-cash impairment charges, with $226 million recognized in the second quarter of 2025.
Key points
- St. Paul, Minnesota CRB mill to close permanently; Forney, Texas containerboard mill production to be discontinued; Forney specialty coating facility not affected.
- About 650 employees in the U.S. and Germany will be impacted; capacity reduction of over 500,000 tons annualized.
- Expected pre-tax cash charges of about $99 million ($42 million severance, $57 million other restructuring) and pre-tax non-cash impairment charges of about $188 million.
- $226 million of charges to be recognized in Q2 2025; remaining $61 million over the rest of 2025 and into 2026.
The filing
Written by AI (Anthropic Claude, claude-haiku-5-5) on Nov 8, 2026, 12:42 AM ET, from the text of the filing and its press-release exhibits only. Written later: this filing was briefed after the fact, when past filings were added to the site, so the brief may be read with hindsight; the filing itself is the record of what was known on April 30, 2025.
Briefs are written by AI from the filing text (each brief's own page names the model) and can contain mistakes — open the filing before acting on anything. Impact (1-5) and tone are the model's reading of the filing for shareholders, not a price forecast. Not investment advice.