Kimberly-Clark said on Thursday it will close its Conway plant no later than 2021.
The central Arkansas manufacturing facility employs nearly 350 workers.
A statement from the company said the employees were told on Thursday. The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reported Thursday that a $25 million deal to keep a Kimberly-Clark plant in Wisconsin open meant the Arkansas one would be shuttered.
"This difficult decision was made after the company agreed to the terms of an incentive agreement through the Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation that will enable the company’s Cold Spring facility in Wisconsin to remain open," the statement said. "We do not take these decisions lightly, and our primary focus at this time is our employees."
Kimberly-Clark, which makes Kleenex tissues, Huggies diapers and other paper products, also has a manufacturing facility in Maumelle and an office in Bentonville.
Read Friday's Arkansas Democrat-Gazette for full details.
EARLIER:
MADISON, Wis. — An Arkansas plant would close and a Wisconsin one would stay open under a $25 million deal Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker planned to announce Thursday with paper-products giant Kimberly-Clark Corp, according to a published report.
Kimberly-Clark, which was founded nearly 150 years ago in Wisconsin and is now based in Dallas, was previously reported to be weighing whether to close the Wisconsin plant or one in Conway.
The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reported details of the deal ahead of Walker's official announcement, which is planned for Thursday afternoon outside the Wisconsin plant that employs nearly 400 people. Walker's office did not immediately confirm the report, which was attributed to people familiar with the agreement.
Under the new deal, the $25 million would be paid to Kimberly-Clark over five years, the Journal Sentinel reported. The company would keep the Cold Spring plant open and close the one in Arkansas, the newspaper said.
Kimberly-Clark, which makes Kleenex tissues, Huggies diapers and other paper products, said in January that it planned to close both the Fox Crossing and smaller Neenah plants in Wisconsin as part of the company's plan to cut up to 5,500 jobs and close or sell 10 plants worldwide. Its North American consumer business is headquartered in Neenah, Wisconsin, where the company was founded in 1872. Wisconsin is home to about 3,000 Kimberly-Clark employees.