WA: Bellingham pulp mill closing permanently-High electric prices

greenspun.com : LUSENET : Grassroots Information Coordination Center (GICC) : One Thread

Bellingham pulp mill closing permanently; tissue mill still running March 30, 2001, 01:15 PM BELLINGHAM – In a huge blow to the Bellingham economy, Georgia-Pacific announced Friday it will permanently close its pulp and chemical operations, leaving 420 employees out of work. High electricity prices forced G-P to close the pulp mill in December, but up until now, managers were confident they could get it up and running again. “We thought we were making some progress, but it’s just an obstacle that’s bigger than us,” mill manager Jim Cunningham told KING 5 News.

Georgia-Pacific, which is based in Atlanta, decided to close the operations because it has cheaper sources of pulp.

The toilet paper facility in Bellingham will continue operating by using 15 portable diesel fuel generators. Three hundred thirty people work at that part of the plant.

The tissue mill produces about 93,000 tons of tissue annually.

The company will try to find many of the laid-off workers jobs in other plants across the country, and it is providing a good severance package.

Bellingham’s Chamber of Commerce says this decision is a $50 million blow to the local economy. Georgia-Pacific is the city's largest industrial employer.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

http://www.king5.com/detailtopstory.html?StoryID=16713

-- Martin Thompson (mthom1927@aol.com), March 30, 2001


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