The announcement of Domtar”s closure came unexpectedly Tuesday, but some employees were already expecting the worst.
“I had pretty well prepared myself. Things weren”t going as well as expected,” said Henry Everson of West Point, a technician with 20 years experience at Domtar and Weyerhaeuser, which first opened the sprawling industrial complex on Old Macon Road, southwest of Columbus. “You could see the handwriting on the wall.”
For years the plant had utilized “down days” during which it shut down the coated groundwood paper machine and temporarily redirected employees to perform alternate tasks. Employees still worked 40-hour weeks, but orders for coated paper — commonly used in magazines — were shrinking in size and frequency.
“We were slowing up sales-wise. (Domtar) had temporary shutdowns, sometimes every other week, just however the market runs,” said Everson.
With the announcement of the sale of the company”s coated groundwood paper assets to NewPage Corp. of Ohio, the end finally has a date attached.
April 16 will be the last working day at Domtar”s Columbus mill, according to a company letter notifying employees of its closure. The letter, sent Tuesday by certified mail, reads the “separation of employees” is subject to change.
The notification came among a slew of rumors circulating about the mill. One claimed the closure was imminent, but others claimed Weyerhaeuser, which sold the coated paper mill to Domtar in 2007, would be the one to close. Another rumor claimed the two facilities would reunite in mid-March.
“There were so many rumors, you don”t know what to believe,” said another senior Domtar employee who asked not to be identified.
The employee says temporary shutdowns at the mill were nothing new and the practice extended back to the 1990s when market conditions slowed. But despite the current dip in buyers, there are enough plants around the country producing coated paper that “our shutting down is not going to make a dent in the market.”
Domtar employees are now looking at their options while coping with the reality of their pending unemployment.
“Some are feeling distressed about it. Some were upset,” said Everson of his co-workers” reaction to the news. “Lost jobs are messing with a lot of people”s lives.”
He”s unsure what the plant”s closure means for his retirement benefits.
“That”s what I”m going to have to look into. Hopefully, I still can (retire),” said Everson. “I”m in a position in my life where I can still provide for my family. I”ll still be OK. Unfortunately, a lot of (other employees) weren”t at that point.
“People are stressed. They were stressed before the announcement was even made.”
Brenda Lathan, vice president of economic development for the Columbus-Lowndes Development Link, says the Mississippi Department of Employment Security continues to ready a team to visit Columbus. She expects a transition office will be set up locally within the next two weeks.
Lathan says Domtar is working with the state, Columbus and Lowndes County to “make this as smooth a transition as possible.”
Everson says operations weren”t very smooth at the plant in recent years.
After the economy turned sour, he says management decided to shuffle the lineups of its four 11-man technician teams “to make the team stronger.” But he says the changes were detrimental to efficiency.
“A lot of changes went on. I see it as a disruption and I think that”s mostly the consensus of all the teams,” said Everson.
He says additional business opportunities were also available that the company did not pursue, but wouldn”t specify what kind.
“They just didn”t take advantage of those opportunities when they were there. But that”s spilled milk. It”s up to management to make those changes. We”ve got to go by what they do and recommend,” he said.
Everson does, however, credit Domtar management with giving its employees a voice in business decisions through “team concepts” meetings.
Jason Browne was previously a reporter for The Dispatch.
You can help your community
Quality, in-depth journalism is essential to a healthy community. The Dispatch brings you the most complete reporting and insightful commentary in the Golden Triangle, but we need your help to continue our efforts. In the past week, our reporters have posted 43 articles to cdispatch.com. Please consider subscribing to our website for only $2.30 per week to help support local journalism and our community.