Editor’s note: This story has been updated with additional information from Georgia-Pacific.
Georgia-Pacific announced Wednesday it will permanently close a containerboard mill in Cedar Springs, Georgia, along the state’s southwest border with Alabama. All 535 employees there will be let go, with most positions eliminated by Aug. 1.
No overall schedule for the ramp down and ultimate closure has been finalized, said Nicole Linton, company spokesperson, via email. “Production and runtime at Cedar Springs will continue as the site works to fulfill customer commitments and plan for a safe and orderly shutdown and depletion of raw materials,” she said.
As a private company, Georgia-Pacific does not comment on production capacity at its facilities, per Linton. But she confirmed the company will begin shifting some of the Cedar Springs production to other facilities, including containerboard mills in Big Island, Virginia; Toledo, Oregon; Monticello, Mississippi; and Brewton, Alabama.
While the company says multiple factors led to this decision, primarily it doesn’t believe the mill can competitively serve customers in the long term. “This decision has nothing to do with the quality of work of Georgia-Pacific’s employees at the Cedar Springs mill,” the company said in a news release.
A worker adjustment and retraining notification filed with the state of Georgia on Wednesday morning notes that some employee layoffs might occur before or after Aug. 1 “depending upon the business needs.” Some employees also are expected to remain with the company past the closure date to help with shutting down the facility. Certain hourly employees are represented by unions: United Steelworkers Locals 1703 and 1864 and the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local 1980.
All salaried employees will receive severance upon leaving the company, Linton confirmed. Soon, Georgia-Pacific will enter into effects bargaining with the labor unions to discuss hourly benefits, including severance. All employees will receive pay and benefits through Aug. 1, 2025, as required by law, Linton said.
The company also plans to assist employees with finding other jobs within Georgia-Pacific, at other businesses owned by parent company Koch, or outside the company. “Georgia-Pacific is committed to supporting employees in finding employment through job fairs and placement services or other available resources,” Linton said
In April, the local publication Early County News reported that Georgia-Pacific would temporarily cease production on its No. 2 paper machine at Cedar Springs and that short-term impact would be minimal. It was the first announced production reduction at the facility since idling the No. 3 machine in 2020 due to lack of demand amid the COVID-19 pandemic, according to the publication.
Georgia-Pacific did indeed notify Cedar Springs employees in April that it would idle paper machine No. 2 along with some associated backend equipment, Linton confirmed. That decision was largely driven by near-term market disruptions related to the ongoing trade situation, she said.
However, she reiterated that the newly announced decision to permanently close Cedar Springs stems from the belief that the mill can’t fully serve customers long term. “Despite the closeness of timing, these decisions were independent of each other,” Linton said.
Earlier this month, Georgia-Pacific announced it would immediately close a plywood plant in Emporia, Virginia, affecting 550 employees. In May 2024, Georgia-Pacific announced it would close its corrugated plant in Milan, Michigan, and eliminate all 113 positions.
