IP starts permanent shutdown of first paper machine at its Courtland, Alabama, coated and uncoated freesheet paper mill on Nov. 19; layoffs to start first week of December

Debra Garcia

LOS ANGELES , November 20, 2013 (Industry Intelligence) – International Paper Co. (IP) began the permanent shutdown of the first paper at its Courtland, Alabama, mill on Tuesday, reported WAFF-TV on Nov. 19.

The station’s news report, which was sent footage of the machine being powered down, commented that it had been an emotional day at the mill.

Some of the mill’s workers have been offered jobs at other IP mills, while 660 of the employees attended an external job fair on Nov. 7. The first wave of layoffs at the mill will start the first week of December, WAFF-TV reported.

IP announced in early September that it would close down the entire mill by the end of first-quarter 2014, but in late October stated that the process would be completed by the middle of first-quarter 2014, according to Industry Intelligence’s archives.

Closing the mill will reduce IP's North American uncoated and coated freesheet paper production capacity by 950,000 tons/year, of which 765,000 tons/year is uncoated freesheet, the company indicated in a Sept. 11 press release.

The primary source of this article is WAFF-TV, Huntsville, Alabama, on Nov. 19, 2013.

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