Food container giant Tupperware Brands has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy after announcing the closure of its last U.S. factory in favor of moving production to Mexico, the company said Tuesday.
“Tupperware will seek Court approval to continue operating during the proceedings and remains focused on providing its customers with its award-winning, innovative products through Tupperware sales consultants, retail partners and online,” the corporation said in a press release.
Company officials added that they are also seeking court approval “to facilitate a sale process for the business in order to protect its iconic brand and further advance Tupperware’s transformation into a digital-first, technology-led company.”
Tupperware Brands, which took the U.S. by storm in the 1950s with a direct marketing method that allowed housewives to sell products in their homes, holds “somewhere between $500 million and $1 billion in assets ($7.4 million in cash), while owing over 50,000 creditors between $1 billion to $10 billion,” according to WJET/WFXP.
President and CEO Laurie Ann Goldman said the “challenging” economy made filing for bankruptcy protection the best option:
Over the last several years, the Company’s financial position has been severely impacted by the challenging macroeconomic environment. As a result, we explored numerous strategic options and determined this is the best path forward. This process is meant to provide us with essential flexibility as we pursue strategic alternatives to support our transformation into a digital-first, technology-led company better positioned to serve our stakeholders.
The Orlando, Florida-based brand currently has about 5,450 employees and over 465,000 freelance salespeople in dozens of countries, WJET/WFXP reported.
The Chapter 11 filing comes just months after the kitchen product company announced that their last U.S. manufacturing plant, located in Hemingway, South Carolina, would be shut down by January 2025.
Production will be moved to Lerma, Mexico after Tupperware begins laying off around 150 Hemingway workers on September 28, Breitbart News reported.
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