The Kimberly Clark plant in Conway will close down after an announcement by the company.
With the plant closing down, it will affect at least 350 jobs, according to Lance Turner with Arkansas Business. The plant will be closed down within the next 18 to 24 months and will be closed down no later than 2021.
The news of the closure comes after Kimberly Clark reached an agreement with Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker to keep a plant open there.
Walker plans to announce a $28 million incentive package Thursday at the company's plant in Fox Crossing, Wisconsin.
The State of Wisconsin will pay Kimberly Clark $28 million over five years in return for keeping the Cold Spring plant open.
According to Arkansas Business, company officials told the Conway Chamber of Commerce in the summer that it was considering closing the plant in Conway. The Conway plant has been in operation for over 50 years.
"We have put together a very aggressive package with the local folks as well — you know, city of Conway and their chamber of commerce," Brandi Hinkle said to Arkansas Business. Hunkle is a spokeswoman for the Arkansas Economic Development Commission. "But we had to be careful and always consider what the return would be, and we were just not willing — or able — to do something that wasn't beneficial to the state."
AEDC will help the employees transition by offering training, according to Hinkle.
The plant in Maumelle is expected to remain open.
Kimberly Clark is expected to lay off 12 to 13 percent of its workforce, which means roughly 5,000 employees will be affected.