Kimberly-Clark is slated to cut 25% of its production capacity at its Cold Spring facility in Fox Crossing, reducing 16 lines to 12 effective January 2026, according to local union leaders.
The global consumer product giant will shift the four production lines, involving Kotex and Poise brands, to Malaysia and Vietnam, said Sally Feistel, director of the United Steelworkers union’s regional office in Menasha.
On Aug. 8, K-C informed the Cold Spring plant of the production reduction decision.
“…Our initial thought (was) not to move the production,” Feistel said. “They were not willing to change that decision.”
On Aug. 22, K-C’s communication team told the Appleton Post-Crescent the proposed changes do not include job loss. Closing four production lines will be equivalent to cutting about 100 jobs, but no layoffs are happening immediately amid a worker shortage.
Feistel said the plant is behind on filling vacancies, and that jobs for current employees are secure.
The Cold Spring facility employed about 430 people, according to a 2019 Post-Crescent reporting. It runs 24/7 with two 12-hour shifts a day.
A listing on the company website shows the Fox Crossing plant is hiring machine operators for rotating 12-hour shifts.
The production capacity has been expanded over the past couple of years. In 2019, K-C invested $115 million to build a new warehouse and added four production lines to its existing 12, according to Post-Crescent archives from Nov. 14, 2019. A year earlier, the United Steelworkers Local 2-482 made concessions and approved an agreement with K-C to accept state incentives contingent on retaining jobs and keeping the mill open.
K-C didn’t respond to The Post-Crescent’s inquiries on what led the corporation to transfer these production lines to Malaysia and Vietnam. The two Asian countries already make a couple of K-C brands, including Kotex, and export them to other markets in the Asia-Pacific.
K-C said it realigned its operating and management structure to streamline its global supply chain, with global workforce reductions of 4-5%, according to its 2025 filing filed with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission.
In May, the company announced a $2 billion investment over the next five years in its North America business, with the building of a new manufacturing mill in Warren, Ohio, serving as a hub for the Northeast and Midwest regions, and expanding a distribution center in Beech Island, South Carolina.
Zhen Wang is a business reporter for The Post-Crescent. Reach her with story tips and feedback at zwang@gannett.com or 920-993-7117.
This article originally appeared on Appleton Post-Crescent: Kimberly-Clark to shift four production lines from Fox Crossing to Malaysia, Vietnam
Reporting by Zhen Wang, Appleton Post-Crescent / Appleton Post-Crescent
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