TOLEDO, Ohio, March 19, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Libbey Inc.
(NYSE American: LBY), one of the world's largest glass
tableware manufacturers, today announced temporary changes to its
U.S. operations in response to the continued spread of COVID-19 and
uncertainty regarding the potential impact on the Company's
business demand.
In light of the rapidly evolving situation, the Company will
temporarily halt production at its Toledo, Ohio, and Shreveport, Louisiana, manufacturing
facilities for a minimum of two weeks beginning March 23. As part of the transition, various
employees across the U.S. manufacturing facilities will be
temporarily laid off. During this timeframe benefits will remain in
place.
The Company's U.S. distribution network will continue operating
with employees reporting to work on a potentially reduced schedule.
Libbey will also temporarily close its two outlet retail stores in
the U.S. for a minimum of two weeks beginning March 21. At this time, our international
manufacturing and distribution facilities continue to operate.
"In accordance with the guidance of global health professionals,
and in light of rapidly evolving market conditions, we made the
difficult but necessary decision to suspend production at our
facilities and close our U.S. stores during this period of
unprecedented uncertainty," said Mike
Bauer, chief executive officer of Libbey. "Safeguarding the
health and safety of our associates, customers and the communities
we serve is our top priority, and in anticipation of ongoing market
headwinds, we believe this decision is prudent and necessary. We
will continue to closely monitor the situation across our global
facilities and will make adjustments as necessary. We remain
committed to upholding our mission of creating the most rewarding
experiences for customers and end users."
Since the initial outbreak, Libbey has taken steps to ensure the
safety of its employees, including offering remote working
arrangements where possible and implementing enhanced safety and
sanitation protocols at all of the company's facilities.
Due to the rapidly evolving environment and continued
uncertainties from the impact of COVID-19, the Company is
withdrawing its previously announced outlook for full-year
2020.
About Libbey
Inc.
Based in Toledo, Ohio, Libbey
Inc. is one of the largest glass tableware manufacturers in the
world. Libbey Inc. operates manufacturing plants in the U.S.,
Mexico, China, Portugal and the
Netherlands. In existence since 1818, the Company supplies
tabletop products to retail, foodservice and business-to-business
customers in over 100 countries. Libbey's global brand portfolio,
in addition to its namesake brand, includes Libbey Signature®,
Master's Reserve®, Crisa®, Royal Leerdam®, World® Tableware,
Syracuse® China, and Crisal
Glass®. In 2019, Libbey Inc.'s net sales totaled $782.4 million. Additional information is
available at www.libbey.com.
Cautionary Note on Forward-Looking Statements
This press release includes forward-looking statements as
defined in Section 27A of the Securities Act and Section 21E of the
Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. Such statements
reflect only the Company's best assessment at this time and are
indicated by words or phrases such as "goal," "plan," "expects," "
believes," "will," "estimates," "anticipates," or similar phrases.
These forward-looking statements include all matters that are not
historical facts. They include statements regarding the Company's
intentions, beliefs or current expectations concerning, among other
things, the impact of COVID-19 on our operations and the length of
time of such impact, our results of operations, financial
condition, liquidity, prospects, growth, strategies and the impact
of COVID-19 on the industry in which we operate and the industries
we serve. By their nature, forward-looking statements involve risks
and uncertainties because they related to events and depend on
circumstances that may or may not occur in the future. Investors
are cautioned that forward-looking statements are not guarantees of
future performance and that our actual results of operations,
financial condition and liquidity, and the development of the
industry in which we operate, may differ materially from these
statements. Investors should not place undue reliance on such
statements. Important factors potentially affecting performance
include but are not limited to risks and uncertainties related to
the impact of COVID-19 on the global economy, our associates, our
customers and our operations, our high level of indebtedness and
the availability and cost of credit; high interest rates that
increase the Company's borrowing costs or volatility in the
financial markets that could constrain liquidity and credit
availability; the inability to achieve savings and profit
improvements at targeted levels in the Company's operations or
within the intended time periods; increased competition from
foreign suppliers endeavoring to sell glass tableware, ceramic
dinnerware and metalware in our core markets; global economic
conditions and the related impact on consumer spending levels;
major slowdowns or changes in trends in the retail, travel,
restaurant and bar or entertainment industries, and in the retail
and foodservice channels of distribution generally, that impact
demand for our products; inability to meet the demand for new
products; material restructuring charges related to involuntary
employee terminations, facility sales or closures, or other various
restructuring activities; significant increases in per-unit costs
for natural gas, electricity, freight, corrugated packaging, and
other purchased materials; our ability to borrow under our ABL
credit agreement; protracted work stoppages related to collective
bargaining agreements; increased pension expense associated with
lower returns on pension investments and increased pension
obligations; increased tax expense resulting from changes to tax
laws, regulations and evolving interpretations thereof;
devaluations and other major currency fluctuations relative to the
U.S. dollar and the euro that could reduce the cost competitiveness
of the Company's products compared to foreign competition; the
effect of exchange rate changes to the value of the euro, the
Mexican peso, the Chinese renminbi and the Canadian dollar and the
earnings and cash flows of our international operations, expressed
under U.S. GAAP; the effect of high levels of inflation in
countries in which we operate or sell our products; the failure of
our investments in e-commerce, new technology and other capital
expenditures to yield expected returns; failure to prevent
unauthorized access, security breaches and cyber-attacks to our
information technology systems; compliance with, or the failure to
comply with, legal requirements relating to health, safety and
environmental protection; our failure to protect our intellectual
property; and the inability to effectively integrate future
business we acquire or joint ventures into which we enter. These
and other risk factors that could cause results to differ
materially from the forward-looking statements can be found in the
Company's Annual Report on Form 10-K and in the Company's other
filings with the SEC. Refer to the Company's most recent SEC
filings for any updates concerning these and other risks and
uncertainties that may affect the Company's operations and
performance. Any forward-looking statements speak only as of the
date of this press release, and the Company assumes no obligation
to update or revise any forward-looking statement to reflect events
or circumstances arising after the date of this press release.
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SOURCE Libbey Inc.
