Personal Injury Attorney in Georgetown, SC

International Paper on Thursday announced it will permanently close its pulp and paper mill in Georgetown, South Carolina, by the end of 2024. A total of 674 jobs (526 hourly and 148 salaried employees) will be impacted.

As of Thursday morning, there wasn’t a related WARN notice published in South Carolina’s public database, but it’s the single largest concentrated round of layoffs that the Memphis, Tennessee-based company has announced in recent weeks, of more than 1,500 total disclosed across multiple states. However, the Georgetown site is less focused on packaging.

The Georgetown mill produces 300,000 tons of fluff pulp for consumer products like diapers. Even with the closure, IP said it plans to retain customers and service them from other IP sites. The mill also has a supply agreement for uncoated freesheet papers with Sylvamo. That company, also based in Memphis, sells products such as copy and printer papers and those converted into envelopes, as well as specialty papers used in items like paper shopping bags or flour bags. IP and Sylvamo are ending that agreement Dec. 31.

The Georgetown closure comes as IP plans to “review strategic options” for its global cellulose fibers business. CEO Andy Silvernail said on a third-quarter earnings call Thursday that while the company will “evaluate every option ... the most likely option is a sale” and there have been multiple interested parties. IP retained Morgan Stanley as an advisor to review these options.

Silvernail said exiting the Georgetown mill “significantly lowers complexity and costs.” CFO Tim Nicholls said IP anticipates the Georgetown closure will decrease GCF business earnings by approximately $220 million in the fourth quarter due to depreciation expenses.

The GCF business reported $710 million in net sales during Q3, down from $725 million in Q3 of 2023, though profits were up.

Silvernail, who most recently served as an executive advisor in private equity, is now about six months into the job. He had alluded to forthcoming capacity reductions on the company’s second-quarter earnings call.

“As you look region by region, you have places that have way too much capacity, and you have places that do not have enough, and one of the mistakes that we have made over time is we have not made the tough choices,” said Silvernail. “Taking capacity out of places where we shouldn’t have it, and then investing aggressively in places that we should have it” is what IP will focus on as it tries to find “that right balance.”

The South Carolina announcement is the latest of several big closure and layoff announcements by International Paper in October:

The plumes of white steam that have filled the sky over the city of Georgetown since 1937 will vanish by the end of the year. International Paper Co. announced Thursday that it will close the mill, which has 526 hourly and 148 salaried employees.

“This decision is especially difficult because of the impact on hard-working employees, their families and the surrounding communities,” the mill manager, Bernie Chascin, said in a statement.

The employees will be offered severance benefits, outplacement services and access to mental health resources, the statement said.

The closing was announced along with a review of “strategic options” for IP’s $2.9 billion global cellulose fibers business, which has eight mills in three countries. It produces absorbent pulp for personal care products and as a raw material for textiles, construction materials and other items.

The Georgetown mill produces 300,000 tons of the material, also known as fluff pulp. Production will be transferred to other mills.

The mill also produces “uncoated freesheet papers” for Sylvamo, a company that was spun off from IP in 2021.

Sylvamo, which is based in Memphis, Tenn., along with IP, said on Thursday that it was terminating its contract for the Georgetown mill’s product, which was about 250,000 tons this year.

Sylvamo said in a statement that it had been preparing for the possibility of a shutdown in Georgetown since 2021.

The announcement caught local officials by surprise. A statement from Georgetown County said staff were talking with IP to learn more about the closing, which it called “devastating.”

The county plans to work with other agencies and local business to address the impact and said in its statement that “there will be new employment opportunities coming in the near future.”

“The shutting down of the mill is unfortunate because of the positive impact it has sustained over the years in Georgetown,” Mayor Carol Jayroe said in a statement. “Our hearts go out to those being affected by this closure.”

Beth Stedman, president of the Georgetown County Chamber of Commerce, noted in a statement that the impact will extend to local businesses that supply and service the mill. She added that IP has also been a supporter of schools and nonprofits in the county.

“We encourage community members to come together and support one another – especially our friends and neighbors who are most directly impacted by the mill’s closure,” Stedman said.

November 4, 2024 By International Paper

International Paper will shutter its Georgetown, S.C., mill by the end of the year.

The company says in a release the Georgetown mill produces approximately 300,000 tonnes of fluff pulp designed for a range of consumer applications from baby diapers to incontinence products.

The company plans to retain 100% of the mill’s fluff pulp capacity by transferring production to other mills and further reducing the company’s exposure to commodity pulp grades.

The mill also produces uncoated freesheet papers that it sells to Sylvamo pursuant to a strategic contract, which IP and Sylvamo have mutually agreed to terminate as of Dec. 31.

Advertisement

“This decision is especially difficult because of the impact on hard-working employees, their families and the surrounding communities,” said Bernie Chascin, Georgetown mill manager, in a press release.

In total, 526 hourly employees and 148 salaried employees will be impacted. All employees will be offered severance benefits, outplacement services and access to mental health resources.

The news comes alongside an announcement International Paper plans to review strategic options for its $2.9 billion global cellulose fibre (GCF) business.

The company’s GCF business creates safe, high-quality absorbent pulp for a wide range of applications like feminine care, incontinence and other personal care products that promote health and wellness.

Advertisement

In addition, its specialty pulp serves as a sustainable raw material used in textiles, construction materials, paints, coatings and more.

The GCF business generated $2.9 billion in revenue in 2023 and has operations in three countries, with eight mills and two converting facilities.

“International Paper is committed to maximizing value for our shareholders, and to that end, we have launched a comprehensive and thorough review of strategic options for our global cellulose fibers business,” said chair and CEO Andy Silvernail.

“GCF is focused on accelerating earnings by aligning resources with our most strategic fluff pulp customers, implementing an 80/20 mindset and creating a simplified and focused portfolio. Our team is well-positioned to win with attractive customers in the growing global fluff pulp market,” said Clay Ellis, senior VP, GCF.

“Throughout our review, we will maintain our strong customer relationships with the same high standards and close collaboration.”

Advertisement

International Paper has retained Morgan Stanley & Co. LLC as financial advisor to help review strategic options for the GCF business.

The review of strategic options is at an early stage, and there can be no assurance that this review will result in any kind of transaction or other outcome.

The company will provide updates on the progress or status of this matter if and when it deems further disclosure is required or appropriate.

International Paper shareholders also recently approved the packaging giant’s pending acquisition of DS Smith, following recent approval by DS Smith shareholders.

Print this page

Advertisement

Published: Oct. 31, 2024 at 2:45 PM PDT|

GEORGETOWN, S.C. (WCSC) - The International Paper mill in Georgetown is closing down by the end of the year and will put nearly 700 people out of work.

Leaders past and present are reminiscing on its time in the town and working to help secure the future of the employees.

Mayor Carol Jayroe says she found out about the paper mill closing only a little while after the employees. All day she says she has been talking to the business, the state Department of Employment and Workforce and friends she knows who work there.

“It’s all a fluid situation right now, so there’s not a lot that I know that you don’t know,” Jayroe says.

Jayroe says she has already talked to State Rep. Lee Hewitt about the SC Department of Employment and Workforce services that can be brought to the area. She emphasizes that this was a financial decision by International Paper and the company alone. International Paper says it will offer severance packages and outplacement services.

Aside from her work assessing the economic impact, Jayroe says she’s only ever known the city with the mill as a major part.

“I’ve lived here all my life. So International Paper, you know, my father worked there, and my grandfather worked there. So, yeah, it’s been an integral part of my life,” Jayroe says.

After 88 years open, locals know its closure will have severe impacts. The mill employs 526 hourly employees and 148 salaried employees who will soon be out of work. Former Mayor and Councilman Jack Scoville calls the news horrible.

“There’s people in the pulpwood industry, in the trucking industry, that depend on that mill so it’s going to have a direct impact on a lot more people than just the 700 or so who are going to lose their job. That’s absolutely horrible,” Scoville says.

The mill represents one of the last industries left in the city after the steel mill closed, and the port shut down. The city plans to build a new city hall on the old steel mill property. The paper mill facility is on county land. Mayor Jayroe says she is open to any future that may include annexing it into the city, but it’s too early to say what will become of it.

Scoville has some ideas, with Georgetown’s Front Street transforming into a tourist hub with increasing waterfront access. He adds the paper mill space as something that could draw another business or be transformed.

“So maybe the silver lining here, or what’s the story, when you get lemons make lemonade, is that between ports authority property and the steel mill property and the paper mill property, there may be some great opportunities,” Scoville says. “But in the near future, in the next two or three years, it’s going to have a real horrible economic impact across this town.”

While acknowledging the major loss of business and income to the area Scoville hopes this means something better is around the corner.

“Maybe developers need to start looking at Georgetown, because perhaps this 3, 4, 5, years from now, we’ll look back and say, well, new jobs have come in because of this area being available for development. So all we can do at this point is keep our fingers crossed. Hope for the best. Love our neighbors, help them when we can and move forward,” Scoville says.

Jayroe says while she has been close to tears all day, these things happen and it’s time for the people, city, county, and state to offer the resources they have prepared for industry closures.

“We are so fortunate to have several entities come together to help guide us through these times and our hearts go out to each and every one that will be affected by this closure. For almost 90 years, we have had a partner in International Paper, and it is a different day in the City of Georgetown,” Jayroe says.

Copyright 2024 WCSC. All rights reserved.

GEORGETOWN, S.C. (WCBD) — Hundreds of workers in Georgetown will soon be out of a job after International Paper (IP) announced the permanent closure of its Georgetown paper mill.

It came as a shock to many when the company announced Thursday morning that it would close the facility as part of its plan to increase profits into the future.

“I learned early this morning that International Paper would be closing, and [the company] has been a fixture in our community for almost 90 years,” said Mayor Carol Jayroe.

The closure is expected to impact 526 hourly employees and 148 salaried employees, according to the company.

“It’s all fresh at this point and I have been in touch with Lee Hewitt, one of our representatives, and he has talked with the Department of Commerce and the Department of Workforce, so we hope to get some help from them with helping folks find another place to have a job that is close by,” Jayroe said.

According to an IP press release, the company wants to increase the profits from its Global Cellulose Fibers business, which generated $2.9 billion last year. Closing the Georgetown paper mill will help meet that goal, officials said.

“International Paper is committed to maximizing value for our shareholders,” Chairman and CEO Andy Silvernail said.

“It’s a financial decision, that’s all it is,” Jayroe said.

The company is offering severance packages, outplacement services, and access to mental health resources to impacted employees.

Nikki Ewing, the Vice President of Marketing for Georgetown Kraft Credit Union, said while the news is devastating, the city will get through it. The credit union was started by a group of IP employees in the 1950s.

“We are a strong community,” she said. “We help support each other and get through bad times, and this is, I think, definitely one of those times that you will see this community rise up and support each other. Not just the individual employees but everybody in this community is going to give back and give up to where we can help them.”

The closure is expected to happen in phases, but officials said the mill will be completely shut down by the end of December.