It won’t be a Merry Christmas in Iroquois Falls.
Resolute Forest Products is permanently closing its Iroquois Falls newsprint mill as part of a company-wide plan to cut 465,000 tonnes of newsprint capacity.
The mill, which employs 180 people, will be shuttered Dec. 22. Closure-related activities will continue into January. It has an annual production capacity of 210,000 tonnes of newsprint.
The Montreal-based forestry giant is also shutting down one paper machine each at its Quebec operations in Baie Comeau and Clermont.
In a news release, the company attributed its decision to weakness in the global newsprint business, availability and the cost of fibre, and transportation challenges.
In Quebec, Resolute said power costs played a role as well as the spruce budworm infestation.
"Market conditions have had a major impact on our newsprint operations in both Ontario and Quebec, and the cost position of these operations has made them vulnerable to the structural decline in newsprint," said president-CEO Richard Garneau.
The company said it will work with the union and the government officials to ensure that conditions in the collective agreements are respected and that employees are eligible to transfer to other operations.
"The decision to rationalize our newsprint capacity was difficult, as we are mindful of the impact it will have on affected employees," said Garneau, who also blamed the Iroquois Falls closure on environmental groups for their “ill-founded attacks” on Resolute’s forest management practices.
“Their inaccurate and deceptive campaigning, which misrepresents the company's forest management practices, was also a factor. These campaigns are based on malicious falsehoods regarding Resolute's overall compliance with the Crown Forest Sustainability Act in Ontario and the Loi sur l'aménagement durable du territoire forestier in Quebec, and overall sustainability leadership.”
The currently idled paper machine No. 1 at Baie-Comeau is being immediately shut down with paper machine No. 4 in Clermont will be permanently closed by Jan. 30. Those shut-downs will affect 120 jobs in Quebec.
