After nearly 15 years, the American personal care company, Kimberly-Clark (KC), manufacturers of Huggies diapers and sanitary pads, is set to shut down its operations in Nigeria.

Feelers indicate that the production facility of the company at Ikorodu in Lagos has been producing below capacity from late 2023 into 2024 due to the harsh economic environment within the country.

Already, the process of shutting down its operations has begun with the laying off nearly 90 percent of its employees, after some 150 workers were told about the layoffs, a person with direct knowledge stated.

Recall that the company inaugurated the $100 million production plant in 2022 to restart operations after a similar closure of operations in 2019 following a strategic review of its business.

KC began operations in Nigeria in 2012 but stopped due to unfavourable economic conditions in 2019 to later restart in 2021. The company produces Huggies diapers, sanitary pads, Kotex and other hygiene and personal care products. 

A source who claimed anonymity said the company since late 2022 have battled with high energy costs, increased raw material cost since it is import-based and reduced demand from customers due to the prevailing economic situation. This has resulted in downsizing and reduced production time from every day of the week to just Mondays to Thursdays. 

“Our first two years were fantastic in terms of sales growth and market shares within the diaper industry. Late 2022 and 2023 was really bad years for the company due to economic situation, the source stated. 

The closure mirrors exits by Procter & Gamble (P&G) and strategic reviews by PZ Cussons, meaning that two of the three leaders in the diaper and personal care industry in Nigeria (P&G and KC) have ended production in the last one year.