Restructurings

After decades, the Georgia Pacific Gypsum plant is closing its doors and moving out of the Quanah area, leaving over 150 employees uncertain about their future.

When a major U.S. paper producer decided over the summer to shut two of its mills, citing the drop in demand for paper amid the coronavirus pandemic, it sent reverberations through a region that is highly reliant on its timber industry.

Stora Enso will start codetermination negotiations with employees at its Hylte Mill in Sweden regarding a plan to reorganise the mill, including permanent closure of paper machine PM3 and the deinking plant (DIP).

A comprehensive examination of the framework conditions has shown that it is not possible to continue production on the board machine in Hirschwang an der Rax, Lower Austria, economically.

SCA intends to invest SEK 1,45bn in the production of chemically pre-treated thermo-mechanical pulp (CTMP) at the Ortviken paper mill in Sundsvall. In parallel, SCA is initiating consultations with trade unions and employee representatives to discontinue the production of publication paper at the mill.

308 workers will be affected by the repurposing of the Domtar Kingsport mill, according to the Tennessee Department of Labor and Workforce Development.

Mohawk has used this time to review our strategic goals and future vision for the company. As we look to celebrate our 90-year anniversary in 2021, we will be going back to our roots to focus on what we do best: making the most enduring and beautiful papers in the world.

The company will cease operations at the plant and let go of all 24 of the plant's employees on or around September 30.

Cascades Inc. announced that it will close its Etobicoke, Ontario Containerboard packaging facility as part of the strategic repositioning of its Containerboard platform in Ontario and the Corporation's continuing global optimization initiatives.

Greif Inc. will close a Town of Tonawanda packaging manufacturing facility that the company has operated for 22 years.

UPM's Jyväskylä plywood mill will be permanently closed on July 31, 2020, UPM announced. The jobs cut will be 147.

Lecta Group announces that all necessary conditions precedent required for the implementation of Recapitalization have been obtained and it is expected that the Recapitalization Effective Date will be 16 July 2020.

Sappi Limited said the move will cumulatively remove capacity, reduce costs, improve machine utilization and increase competitiveness.

Unifor is urging the Nova Scotia government to work with Northern Pulp to secure Debtor-In-Possession (DIP) financing amid the company's restructuring.

Sappi's shutdown of the No. 9 paper machine and a biomass boiler -- and the resulting elimination of nearly 30% of the jobs at the Westbrook mill -- were a long time coming, union President Ron Rondeau said last Monday.

With the closure of the mill UPM will reduce a total of 240,000 tonnes of its newsprint paper capacity.

Veritiv Corp. reported it is launching a restructuring that will result in the reduction of its U.S. salaried workforce by approximately 15% across all business segments and corporate functions.

BillerudKorsnäs intends to implement a simplified organizational structure as of August 1, 2020. The new organization will be built along the business flow around three functional areas: Wood Supply, Operations and Commercial. In parallel, the resources for sustainability and innovation will be grouped in a common new function, Sustainability & Strategic Development.

Norske Skog will take a major step in its continued transformation towards a growing and high-margin business by converting two newsprint paper machines into renewable containerboard production. The conversions at Golbey and Bruck will introduce 765,000 tonnes of competitive containerboard capacity to meet the growing demand for renewable packaging.

UPM Jyväskylä plywood mill employs 167 people.

Cascades Inc. announces the closure of the Brown Containerboard Packaging facility located in Burlington, Ontario, as part of the Corporation's continuing optimization initiatives for its Containerboard Packaging business.

Graphic Packaging has notified the Louisiana Workforce Commission of 56 planned layoffs in West Monroe.

North Pacific Paper Co. in Longview has cut staff and curtailed production in response to a "significant, sudden change" in orders due to the coronavirus, company officials said.

The Rayonier Advanced Materials Inc. Board of Directors has elected De Lyle Bloomquist to serve as Chair of the Board. The Company previously announced the separation of the roles of Chair and Chief Executive Officer (CEO).

Arauco will close its medium density fiberboard (MDF) production facility in Bennettsville, South Carolina May 18.