Report: Solo Cup to Start Layoffs in June

Solo Cup Company is speeding up its two-year closure plan by laying off some of its workers June 30, according to a Baltimore Sun report. 

The company originally announced its plan to close in June 2010, about six years after acquiring the plant from Sweetheart Cup Co. While Sweetheart Cup kept Baltimore County officials in the loop on its changes, Solo Cup has not, said economic development director David S. Iannucci in a previous report. 

The closure is part of a nationwide trend for the company, which is also eliminating two plants in Springfield, MO, and Andover, MA, according to the report. A total of 1,240 jobs will be lost. The Owings Mills location is set to lose 540 jobs. 

"The last few years have been difficult for us," Solo Cup spokeswoman Angie Gorman told the Sun. "Volume has been improving as the economy has improved, but generally speaking the economy has been difficult on the restaurant industry and the hospitality industry, and we serve those industries."