A federal judge on Thursday said he will not stop the closure of the Pyrex glassware plant in Charleroi, finding the Pennsylvania Attorney General’s Office failed to prove the company’s actions in shuttering the facility violate antitrust laws.

“(W)hile the court is sympathetic to employees whose jobs might be at risk and a longtime local facility that may cease production, in the specific context of this case, the court must narrowly consider the requirements of federal antitrust law and determine whether they have been met,” U.S. District Judge J. Nicholas Ranjan wrote. “They have not.”

Centre Lane Partners, which already held Anchor Hocking, obtained the Pyrex business unit of Corelle Brands in March.

Between the two brands, according to the state, they controlled more than 91% of the glass bakeware market.

In September, Anchor Hawking announced plans to close the 132-year-old glass plant in Charleroi to move operations to Lancaster, Ohio, where officials say they have a newer plant with more capacity.

The move would eliminate 270 jobs — although company officials said they offered those affected by the closure positions in Ohio — and the plant would be closed by February.

In late October, as Centre Lane had already begun dismantling equipment at the plant, the state Attorney General’s Office filed a complaint against the company alleging an anti-trust violation and obtained a temporary restraining order halting the take-down of equipment.

On Tuesday, Ranjan held a hearing on a request for a preliminary injunction that would have put the closure on hold while the state AG’s office investigated the merger to determine if it violates antitrust laws.

Centre Lane’s attorneys argued the merger had been completed months earlier, and the AG’s office only became involved at the announcement of the closure.

In his 20-page opinion, Ranjan said the commonwealth failed to meet any of the requirements necessary to receive a preliminary injunction — including that they were likely to prevail on the merits of their case.

Among the contested questions at Tuesday’s hearing was how to define the relevant market affected by the merger.

The parties argued extensively over the value of glass pans vs. metal vs. ceramic.

The attorney general’s chief economist identified the market at risk as glass bakeware, but Ranjan said the expert failed to present any data as to why glass bakeware cannot be substituted with metal or ceramic.

The judge said the AG’s office failed to provide any meaningful analysis to identify products that might be reasonable substitutes in the market.

“There are too many holes in the analysis for the court to define the market in the way that the commonwealth proposes,” the judge wrote.

Ranjan also said the attorney general’s office failed to show irreparable harm, which is also required.

The commonwealth’s strongest argument for harm, the judge said, was the loss of jobs that will result from the closure.

“The court is sympathetic to and recognizes the significant impact that the dismantling and potential shutting down of the Charleroi plant has, or will have, on the employees working at the plant. For the employees that have worked at the plant, as well as their families, the loss of jobs can be very damaging,” Ranjan said. “As the Commonwealth persuasively notes, the Charleroi plant is the last largest manufacturer in the community and is an important employer.”

But, he continued, many employees have already voluntarily left — and may not return even with an injunction.

To prove a violation of antitrust laws, the attorney general would have had to show a decrease in production, an increase in prices, a decrease in quality or harm to competition and consumers.

But, Ranjan said, the state failed to show any of those.

A message left late Thursday with the union president who represents the plant employees was not immediately returned.

Copyright ©2025— Trib Total Media, LLC (TribLIVE.com)