Sonoco to Close Two European Manufacturing Sites, Targeting Up to $20 Million in 2027 Savings

Sonoco Products Company (NYSE: SON), a global provider of packaging solutions, plans to close two sites in Europe as part of its ongoing efforts to optimize its manufacturing footprint and improve profitability. The planned closures are expected to generate between $15 million and $20 million in savings in 2027, according to comments made by company management during Sonoco’s third-quarter 2026 earnings call.

The announcement forms part of Sonoco’s broader strategy to strengthen operational efficiency, improve cost competitiveness and enhance the long-term profitability of its Consumer Packaging business.

During the earnings call, Chief Financial Officer Paul Joachimczyk highlighted the European site closures as a key contributor to the company’s expected earnings improvement in 2027. The company is also pursuing productivity initiatives and structural cost reductions through its three-year Profitability Performance Plan (PPP), which targets total savings of $150 million to $200 million.

Sonoco reported $16 million in savings under the PPP during the third quarter of 2026, bringing year-to-date savings to $34 million and annualized savings to $51 million.

The planned European closures come as Sonoco continues to align its global Consumer Packaging operations and pursue improvements in plant efficiency, asset utilization, procurement and supply-chain execution.

Locations of the two sites have not been disclosed in the cited earnings-call transcript. The company has also not specified the number of employees potentially affected or provided a detailed closure timeline in the cited remarks.