O-I Glass to lay off up to 20% of staff at Montreal plant as two lines are idled
O-I Glass plans to lay off up to 20% of the roughly 340 employees at its Pointe-Saint-Charles plant in Montreal for an indefinite period, with about 10% going from 6 October 2026 and some 30 further posts about two weeks later, according to Le Journal. Two of the plant's six production lines are to be idled after a four-year supply contract with Anheuser-Busch came to an end; the plant director cited a more difficult and uncertain business environment, and local management declined to comment. Between 60% and 70% of the site's output is normally exported to the United States, and the report links the end of the contract to the US-Canada tariff dispute.
Why this mattersLoss of a major US beverage contract is cutting lines and headcount at a Canadian glass plant, exposing how far such sites depend on US demand.
- About 10% of the plant's roughly 340 workers are to be laid off for an indefinite period from 6 October 2026
- A second round about two weeks later would affect roughly 30 more employees, taking the total to 20% of the workforce
- Two of the plant's six production lines are to be idled, one of them running at 400 bottles per minute
- The end of a four-year supply contract with Anheuser-Busch, a subsidiary of AB InBev, contributed heavily to the decision
- 60% to 70% of the plant's bottle and jar output is normally exported to the United States
- The Pointe-Saint-Charles plant is nearly 125 years old and among the oldest of O-I, which operates in nine countries