Shutdown at UPM mill
December
2005 – Miramichi (CAN): UPM has announced a three-month shutdown of its
Miramichi mill in New Brunswick, Canada, effective 1 February 2006.
The
lay-off will affect employees at the paper and groundwood mills. UPM
stated that high operating costs and the strong Canadian dollar had
made the mill’s exports to the US “unprofitable”.
Domtar cuts 1,800 jobs
Montreal
(CAN): Canadian paper maker Domtar is cutting 1,800 jobs and plans to
close or sell several mills in a bid to return to profitability.
The
company said it expects to close its mills in Cornwall, Ontario and
parts of its Ottawa and Ontario mills. The plan will also see the firm
sell its mill in Vancouver, British Columbia, and shut its saw mills in
Grand Remous and Malartic in Quebec.
The Cornwall mill is the
largest facility, with 910 employees and a total capacity of 265,000
tonnes of uncoated and coated printing grades on three paper machines.
The Cornwall cuts include 390 positions already terminated in December
2004.
Domtar also revealed it will consolidate its North American
administrative offices in Montreal and Cincinnati, and will overhaul
its supply chain.
The company said its strategy to boost profits will result in pretax restructuring charges of $505 million.