Maastricht glass factory shuts down; 200 jobs lost

American glass producer Owens-Illinois Glass (O-I Glass) will permanently close its Maastricht factory, marking the end of operations at a site that has been in existence for over a century. The move will result in the elimination of more than 200 jobs, according to the FNV labor union.

The Maastricht plant, originally known as Kristalunie, was founded in 1925 when two struggling glass factories merged. O-I Glass cited a struggling Dutch glass market as the reason for the closure.

The closure follows a wave of layoffs earlier this year, when roughly 90 employees at the Maastricht site lost their jobs.

Leon van der Elsen, a CNV labor union leader, said the shutdown was expected. "There were already fewer kilotons of packaging glass being produced, meaning fewer beer bottles, soft drink bottles, and glass jars for vegetables," he said. "The products that were produced were also too expensive. The situation had become unsustainable."

The company also operates a factory in Leerdam and said it plans to continue as "an important player in the Netherlands" at that location.