Hundreds Of Layoffs Expected As Stratford Plant Closes

STRATFORD, CT — More than 200 workers in Stratford will be laid off during the coming months as an Illinois packaging company closes its facility in town.

Aptar Group Inc. notified the Connecticut Department of Labor on Wednesday of its plans to close the Stratford plant.

Terminations related to the closure are expected to begin in September and end in March, according to the company’s letter to the labor department. The affected employees will include 126 union workers and 105 non-union staff. The facility is located at 125 Access Road near Sikorsky Memorial Airport.

“All layoffs are expected to be permanent,” Aptar Director of Human Resources Amy Flood said in the letter.

The plant is closing as part of the company’s consolidation of manufacturing operations to facilities in Illinois, New Jersey and Mexico. Aptar is also shuttering its Torrington location, where 59 workers will be laid off, according to labor department records.

Aptar announced in a February news release that it would close the sites at a cost of about $20 million. A previous media report in June indicated the closures would eliminate 100 jobs in Stratford and 90 in Torrington. Aptar officials did not immediately respond Friday to requests for clarification.

The company specializes in packaging and drug delivery for the beauty, pharmaceutical, home and food industries. Headquartered in Crystal Lake, Illinois, Aptar has 14,000 employees in 20 countries.