News Summary
Georgia-Pacific has announced the permanent closure of its Cedar Springs containerboard mill by August 1, affecting 535 employees. The closure is due to competitive market factors and follows a trend of consolidations in the paperboard industry. The company is providing support to affected workers through job placement assistance and severance pay, while redistributing production to other facilities. The local community braces for the economic impact as significant job losses loom in the region.
Cedar Springs, Georgia – Georgia-Pacific has announced the permanent closure of its Cedar Springs containerboard mill, which will impact 535 employees, by August 1 of this year. The mill, which produces approximately 800,000 tons of linerboard and 200,000 tons of corrugating medium per year, will continue limited production to fulfill outstanding customer commitments prior to the final shutdown.
The decision to close the mill stems from various competitive market factors. Georgia-Pacific concluded that the Cedar Springs facility can no longer effectively serve its customer base in the long term. This move is part of a broader trend of consolidations in the paperboard industry, following recent announcements of mill closures in locations such as Los Angeles and St. Paul, Minnesota, along with production reductions in Forney, Texas.
The closure will have a profound effect on the local workforce, with 535 employees facing job loss. Most of the layoffs are expected to occur by August 1, although some job losses may happen before or after this date depending on operational needs. Employees represented by unions, namely the United Steelworkers and the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, also will be affected by this significant shift in employment.
Georgia-Pacific has taken steps to assist affected employees by providing support in securing new job opportunities. These opportunities may come through internal transfers to other roles within Georgia-Pacific or through connections within other businesses in its parent company’s portfolio, Koch Industries. Additionally, all salaried employees will receive severance pay upon termination of their positions, and all employees will continue to receive their pay and benefits until August 1, 2025, in accordance with legal guidelines.
The Cedar Springs mill has historically utilized wood chips as raw materials and operated a recycled fiber plant for processing old corrugated containers as well as Kraft clippings. Following the closure, Georgia-Pacific plans to redistribute a portion of the Cedar Springs production to other facilities, specifically in Big Island, Virginia; Toledo, Oregon; Monticello, Mississippi; and Brewton, Alabama.
This announcement comes on the heels of earlier notifications given by Georgia-Pacific about idling paper machine No. 2 at Cedar Springs, a decision made independently and unrelated to the permanent mill closure. The trend of declining operations in the American paperboard sector has raised concerns among industry analysts, especially as companies face increasing challenges in maintaining competitive advantages in a rapidly changing marketplace.
As the Cedar Springs mill prepares for its impending closure, the community and workforce are left to navigate the challenges and uncertainties that accompany significant job losses in the region. The broader implications of this closure echo through the local economy as it grapples with the effects of the evolving dynamics within the paperboard industry.
Deeper Dive: News & Info About This Topic
- Packaging Dive: Georgia-Pacific Closing Cedar Springs Mill
- Wikipedia: Paperboard
- WALB: Georgia-Pacific Mill Closure
- Google Search: Georgia-Pacific Cedar Springs closure
- Recycling Today: Georgia-Pacific Mill Closing
- Google Scholar: Cedar Springs paperboard industry
- MSN: Support for Affected Employees
- Encyclopedia Britannica: Georgia-Pacific
- WTVY: Early County Paper Mill Closure
- Google News: Georgia-Pacific closure
