 |
Georgia-Pacific to cut 850 jobsPosted by Retirement on: 2005-10-05 08:49:03 in category:
Business [ Print | Permalink / 0 Comment(s) ] Green Bay mill to take brunt of restructuring By JOEL DRESANG and RICK ROMELL Posted: Oct. 4, 2005 Georgia-Pacific Corp. dealt another cut to Wisconsin's tattered paper industry, announcing Tuesday that its Green Bay operations would take the brunt of reductions aimed at improving North American profitability. The Atlanta paper and building products company plans to eliminate 850 jobs in North America and said its Broadway mill, which employs nearly 2,100 workers on Green Bay's west side, would feel the greatest impact in a corporate restructuring of commercial tissue products used in hotels, hospitals and restaurants. Georgia-Pacific said it will move warehouse operations from the Broadway mill and close unspecified "small, non-core" operations at the plant. Across North America, it intends to mothball up to four tissue paper machines and about 70 converting lines, though it wasn't clear how those cutbacks will affect Green Bay. Mary Jo Malach, a spokeswoman for Georgia-Pacific in Green Bay, said the company would not comment beyond a news release until Friday, after first speaking with employees. Besides the Broadway mill, Georgia-Pacific employs nearly 700 workers at an east side mill that makes consumer tissue products such as Quilted Northern toilet paper. It also has about 200 employees between a Green Bay warehouse and a plant for processing wastepaper and about 550 workers in corporate offices at the Broadway mill. "Wow," Kramer Rock, longtime operator of an independent staffing agency in Green Bay, said in response to the news. "That's certainly going to knock some wind out of the rather gusty sails we've got up here." Brown County Executive Carol Kelso was preparing the release of her budget when she heard the word Tuesday. "I can have a lot of empathy for Georgia-Pacific as we continue to downsize and streamline county government," said Kelso, whose budget includes cuts of $5 million in spending and 60 job losses. "It's difficult for a community that has grown and sustained itself on an industry that is now facing cutbacks." Meanwhile, employees at the affected mill expressed both resignation and frustration with the announcement. "It's unsettling. You don't like to see people lose their jobs," said Mike Sikora, 60, of Green Bay, who was heading into the plant's Lombardi Avenue gate Tuesday afternoon. He said he has been at the mill for 25 years. "It's a good place to work," Sikora said. But some workers complained that changes in ownership have taken their toll over the years. The mill used to be headquarters for Fort Howard Corp., which was sold in 1997 to become Fort James, which Georgia-Pacific acquired in an $11 billion buyout in 2000. Steve Ryba, 44, also of Green Bay, has been at the Broadway mill for 19 years. "I think there are a lot of dissatisfied people at this facility since Georgia-Pacific has taken it over," Ryba said on his way into one of the employee meetings on the company's restructuring. About the same time, Pat Hanaway, 55, of Greenleaf, was heading out of a meeting. "It sounds like it could be a little over 300," Hanaway said of the number of jobs to be cut. "They're going to ask for volunteers first that want to leave, and then I'm thinking that it's going to be low people on the totem pole." Hanaway, who works in specialized maintenance, said he isn't concerned about his position, which he said has been exempt from two previous rounds of reductions. But he also suggested that because of the age of the equipment at the mill and the competition with more efficient operations elsewhere, more job losses could follow. Although Wisconsin has led the United States in paper production for more than 40 years, its machinery is among the oldest, said Pat Schillinger, president of the Wisconsin Paper Council. "Unfortunately, sometimes updating and modernizing our mills involves short-term pain in order to bring about long-term benefits," Schillinger said. "The important thing is that the assets and the wealth stay here supporting as many jobs as possible." For its part, Georgia-Pacific said that it figures to cut $100 million out of its annual expenses through initiatives aimed at eliminating 850 jobs in North America and 250 in Europe. Tom Howatt, president and chief executive officer of Wausau Paper Corp., noted that other Wisconsin papermakers have cut production and jobs, including Wausau Paper, which is closing its pulp mill in Brokaw, eliminating 60 jobs. In addition, Badger Paper Mills Inc., which announced last month that it is being sold to a shareholder, shut down a 70-year-old machine in Peshtigo, ending 100 positions. Also, earlier this year, Riverside Paper Corp. stopped making paper at its Appleton mill, affecting 101 workers. "It's a difficult circumstance having to take that kind of action," Howatt said of closing Wausau's pulp business. But, he added, "it positions the company for future success." Homepage Other open community sites http://www.business-business.biz Please support our sponsors: To design your custom retirement plan. http://www.retirement-plan.us For planning IRA rollovers. http://www.ira-rollover.us Professional asset allocation and the wonders it can do. http://www.asset-allocation.us Professional money management- Nationally ranked performance. http://www.roth-ira.us Managers selected to fit your needs. http://www.money-managers.us |
|
Post new CommentThis site does not allow anonymous comments. Registered members can login to participate. Registration is free and takes only a few seconds |
|