Judge refuses to prevent closing of Corelle plant

His ruling states that the requirements of federal anti-trust law were not met.

The closure of a historic glass-making plant in Charleroi will move forward.

On Thursday, a federal judge said he will not stop the closure of the Pyrex glassware plant in Charleroi, finding that the Pennsylvania Attorney General’s Office failed to prove that the company’s actions in shuttering the facility violate antitrust laws.

“While the court is sympathetic to employees whose jobs might be at risk and a long-time local facility that may cease production, in the specific context of this case, the court must narrowly consider the requirements of federal antitrust law and determine whether they have been met,” U.S. District Judge J. Nicholas Ranjan wrote. “They have not.”

Centre Lane Partners, which already held Anchor Hocking, obtained the Pyrex business unit of Corelle Brands in March.

According to the state, the two brands control more than 91% of the glass bakeware market.

On Sept. 4, Anchor Hocking CEO Mark Eichhorn told employees at the facility that it would close by the end of this year and move operations to

“There are too many holes in the analysis for the court to define the market in the way that the commonwealth proposes.”

JUDGE J. NICHOLAS RANJAN

Lancaster, Ohio.

That decision will eliminate 270 jobs with the plant closure in Charleroi, but employees were offered positions in Ohio.

On Nov. 4, Attorney General Michelle Henry announced a federal district court granted the Office of Attorney General’s motion for a temporary restraining order that will pause the shuttering of the Pyrex glass manufacturing plant pending further order of court.

The federal court’s ruling prevented Anchor Hocking Holdings and its private equity partner, Centre Lane Partners, from removing equipment and other materials from the Charleroi plant in relocation efforts pending a hearing Tuesday.

In court, the attorney general’s office called one employee to testify at the hearing, a man who worked on an assembly line to make bakeware at the Charleroi plant.

He was not identified to protect him from possible retaliation.

The man, who works on computer and electrical equipment, said he was on site the day dismantling began on the line.

On the first day, he testified that time was taken in the process to mark parts to make reassembly easier.

By the third day, he said, it appeared to have switched from “dismantling to demolition.” No longer were parts being marked, and the process was moving faster.

Attorneys for Centre Lane told the court that the Lancaster, Ohio, plant is newer and has more production capacity, eliminating the need for the Charleroi location.

They claimed to be able to produce all Anchor Hocking products, as well as Pyrex.

On Thursday, in a 20-page opinion, Ranjan said that the commonwealth failed to meet any of the requirements necessary to receive a preliminary injunction — including that they were likely to prevail on the merits of their case.

Among the contested questions at Tuesday’s hearing was how to define the relevant market affected by the merger.

The parties argued extensively over the value of glass pans vs. metal vs. ceramic.

The attorney general’s chief economist identified the market at risk as glass bakeware, but Ranjan said the expert failed to present any data as to why glass bakeware cannot be substituted with metal or ceramic.

The judge said the AG’s office failed to provide any meaningful analysis to identify products that might be reasonable substitutes in the market.

“There are too many holes in the analysis for the court to define the market in the way that the commonwealth proposes,” the judge wrote.

Ranjan also said the attorney general’s office failed to show irreparable harm, which is also required.

The commonwealth’s strongest argument for harm, the judge said, was the loss of jobs that will result from the closure.

“The court is sympathetic to and recognizes the significant impact that the dismantling and potential shutting down of the Charleroi plant has, or will have, on the employees working at the plant. For the employees that have worked at the plant, as well as their families, the loss of jobs can be very damaging,” Ranjan said. “As the Commonwealth persuasively notes, the Charleroi plant is the last largest manufacturer in the community and is an important employer.”

But, he continued, many employees have already voluntarily left — and may not return even with an injunction.

To prove a violation of antitrust laws, the attorney general would have had to show a decrease in production, an increase in prices, a decrease in quality or harm to competition and consumers.

Ranjan said the state failed to show any of those. Since the announcement of the potential closure, talks have been happening regularly on behalf of the union workers.

Employees officially received notice Oct. 10 when a letter was sent to Steve Wolf, Rapid Response TAA State Coordinator for the Pennsylvania Department of Labor and Industry and Charleroi Mayor Gregg Doerfler.

Sent by Brandon Eichhorn, director of legal operations for Corelle Brands LLC, the letter served as an additional advisement under the Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notifications Act that the plant will close by Feb. 28, 2025.

The WARN Act helps ensure advance notice in cases of qualified plant closings and mass layoffs.

In the letter, Brandon Eichhorn said the first round of permanent layoffs will start “on or about” Dec. 9 over a 14-day period. The first round will terminate 173 employees.

Starting Dec. 20, a second round will begin for another 14day permanent layoff period that will affect 60 more employees. After the holidays, layoffs are expected to resume Jan. 13, 2025 when two more employees are laid off.

A few weeks later, starting Jan. 27, 2025, nine more positions will be cut before the last round of layoffs Feb. 17 which will include 26 more positions ahead of the plants anticipated closure Feb. 25.

A total of 270 workers will be affected according to the WARN notice filed with the Department of Labor and Industry. Employees were given the option to relocate, the company said, but it’s unclear how many will be able to do so.