North Carolina has had a rough 2025…
With a painful wave of factory closures engulfing the state…
And unfortunately it looks like the pain is poised to continue.
More specifically, North Carolina is facing yet another sizable hit to its manufacturing base as Packaging Corporation of America announced plans to permanently close its full-line plant in Salisbury, at the cost of an estimated 108 good, local manufacturing jobs.
The plant, located in Rowan County on North Salisbury Avenue, manufactured corrugated packaging products and served a broad range of food and beverage customers as well as industrial clients. The layoffs are scheduled between December 5 and December 19, 2025 – just in time for the holiday season.
The decision underscores the mounting pressure on packaging manufacturers. Rising costs for pulp and other raw materials, increasing energy and freight expenses, and supply-chain uncertainty are squeezing margins in what many assumed was a stable segment of industry. Analysts say older or less automated plants are particularly at risk.
This process, which has been ongoing for years, is only accelerated by the demand shock to US exports as the trade war takes an enormous toll. Between retaliatory tariffs and even outright boycotts of US goods, foreign markets are buying a lot less American-made stuff, especially in the food and beverage sectors.
For Salisbury and the surrounding region, the ripple effect will likely go beyond the plant itself. Suppliers, trucking firms, maintenance contractors and smaller local businesses that relied on the plant’s volume now face reduced work. The air of quiet operations and idle machines often signals deeper economic erosion in a community.
This closure adds to a growing number of manufacturing shutdowns in North Carolina in 2025, particularly in food, packaging and allied industries. The narrative of job security in these sectors is shifting as companies consolidate operations and reduce their building footprints.
Here’s wishing the impacted workers all the best – and that the economy starts turning around soon!
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