The Grinch who Stole Christmas and Pactiv Evergreen have a lot more in common than just a shared color scheme and stealing presents right out from under the Christmas trees of children.
Cuddly as a cactus and charming as an eel, officials from Pactiv announced on March 6 that they would soon shutter the venerable old paper mill at the heart of Canton but didn’t bother to give local or state officials any warning whatsoever.
With all the tender sweetness of a seasick crocodile, Pactiv threw hundreds out of work with little notice and also failed to facilitate continuing health care coverage for those workers, even after top executives dumped hundreds of thousands of dollars in stock for one last cash grab just days before the announcement. With a heart full of unwashed socks and a soul that’s full of gunk, Pactiv’s futile attempt to secure a tax break from the county can only be described as follows: “stink, stank, stunk.”
Perhaps the biggest three-decker sauerkraut and toadstool sandwich with arsenic sauce served up by Pactiv — above and beyond its attempt to turn Whoville into a Hooverville — was the revelation late this year that the $6 billion multinational corporation may have misread the paper market by forecasting decreased demand for its milk carton paper.
“Market conditions” were cited as a reason for closing, but in November, multiple news outlets reported a milk carton shortage in schools, depriving thousands of Cindy Lou Whos of their favorite lunchtime beverage.
Unlike the Grinch, Pactiv doesn’t even have an adorable little dog to serve as the company’s moral compass and push it along towards its redemption arc, so don’t hold out any hope this holiday season that the company’s small heart will one day grow three sizes. Or two. Or even one. You’re a mean one, Mr. Grinch, but Pactiv’s got you beat.