ATHENS – Yioula Glassworks, the last of its kind in Greece – and sold seven years ago to the Portuguese conglomerate BA Glass Group – is shutting down, unable to be saved after the buyer took on loans of €335 million ($362.44 million) to keep it going.

It is in the Athens neighborhood of Aigaleo and had long been owned by the Voulgarakis family before the Portuguese group took it over, marking the end for the final glass packaging maker in the country, as reported by Naftemporiki.

The Portuguese company said there was no longer enough demand for the glass packaging products, noting that it was the third closure in the sector internationally in the past few months after Reckitt Benckiser and Tupperware ceased production.

BA Glass stated that sales dropped significantly and that there was a big increase in stock levels, leading to the shutdown of some production lines. They also pointed to higher warehousing costs and limited availability.

Tiago Moreira da Silva, CEO of BA Glass, stated: “While this decision was not made lightly, since it is affecting our people, it was necessary and unavoidable. For the time being, our priority is to support the affected employees.”

He mentioned that the company consulted with the union and would offer a voluntary exit plan for 121 affected workers, providing them with a buy-out that he described as a substantial amount to assist them and their families.

“I would also like to express our recognition to the hard work, commitment, and dedication of each person who has proudly contributed to the operations at BA’s plant in Athens,” he added.

During a transition period and to fulfill commitments with customers, production activities are being aligned with market demands, with efforts to minimize any impact on customers by maintaining commercial and distribution activity in Greece.