Rubbermaid to close northeast Ohio plant

<p>Newell Rubbermaid has issued a layoff notice at its plant in nearby Perry Township that employs nearly 300 workers.</p><p>The maker of Sharpie pens is closing the plant by the end of March as part of an effort to cut overhead costs, company officials said Tuesday.</p><p>More than 60 percent of the employees will be offered jobs at the Rubbermaid plant in Mogadore, about 25 miles north, spokesman Joseph Marotti.</p><p>Those not offered jobs will receive severance packages, he said.</p><p>The Atlanta-based company said in September that it planned to close a third of its 80 plants and lay off up to 5,000 workers. It did not specify which plants would be closed.</p><p>Marotti said the Perry Township plant, about 50 miles south of Cleveland, is one of the company's most efficient. But the plant is too small to support an influx of workers from Mogadore, so Rubbermaid opted for the reverse, he said.</p><p>Manufacturing will stop at the end of March, and the building will be empty by the end of June, officials said.</p>

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