(Photo: Enquirer file)

CINCINNATI — Procter & Gamble will close its Kansas City factory and cut back operations in Iowa City as it shifts production to a giant new factory in West Virginia as well as Cincinnati, the company said Wednesday. "Decisions like this are never easy, but we are communicating this decision more than two years in advance to help our employees plan for the future," the company said in a news release. The news release from Procter and Gamble notes the Iowa City job cuts are being announced “more than two years in advance to help employees plan for the future.”

We shared with employees today that we will transfer production of our Hair Care (shampoo and conditioner) and Personal Cleansing (body wash) businesses from Iowa City, Iowa to our new facility at Tabler Station, West Virginia. Cincinnati won't see a significant influx of plant jobs with local workers absorbing the additional production duties, while 200 Kansas City jobs will shift to West Virginia, P&G officials said. We will negotiate with the local labor union regarding support to help employees transition to opportunities, whether that be transfers to other P&G sites or beyond P&G. The Kansas City factory, opened in 1905, makes Dawn, Gain, Ivory and Joy hand dish washing detergents.
Procter and Gamble announces that it will close its plant in Kansas City, Kansas, and reduce operations at its plant in Iowa City, Iowa, as the company plans to shift production to factories in Tablers Station, West Virginia, and Cincinnati, Ohio, by 2020.