PT Paper mill is closing for 10 days Dec. Hoping it is temporary.

[uppityperson]

I leave near Port Townsend and the paper mill is a big employer here. They make pulp and ship it out places. Used to make bags, now do the pulp bit. Looks like 275 of 300 jobs will be temp (we hope) on "vacation", and side story says they are mostly eligible for unemployement. The mill sometimes does a slow down, partial shut down, in the winter for maintenance, but this is different.

There is a side story about a local business that will be impacted right away "Amber Jesionowski serves hot dogs, nachos, coffee and other treats at Dogs on the Run at the corner of Mill Road and State Route 20. A lot of mill employees have become regulars, she said, and the pending layoff would mean fewer customers. "

http://www.ptleader.com/main.asp?SectionID=36&SubSectionID=55&ArticleID=22602&TM=50464.23

PT Paper employees brace for 10-day closure

Some 275 employees of the Port Townsend Paper Corp. are going to get extra time to be at home for the holidays. But not by choice. PT Paper's announcement last week that it will undergo a 10-day closure starting Dec. 19 has adjusted the plans of many families and businesses throughout Jefferson County and beyond. PT Paper officials expect the mill to reopen on Dec. 29, but noted that the situation is subject to market conditions.

"Nobody likes it," said Jim Little, a long-term employee and president of U.S. Steelworkers Local 175, which represents the mill's hourly workers. "It's finally trickled down to PT Paper, that's what's happened." "It" is the global economic slowdown, which has been severe enough that PT Paper General Manger Roger Loney said there may be another temporary closure in early 2009.

Little said mill families are adjusting, that many have filed for a brief period of unemployment compensation, and that all are watching the economy closely. He said he fully expects the mill to reopen its door on Dec. 29.

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We see this as a temporary curtailment to adjust our production to market demand," he said. "The future is very unclear how long the worldwide market will be going through this transition. There may be additional down time in the first quarter. But we've got a lot of things headed in the right direction in terms of the stability of the operation and incremental improvements in almost every corner of the mill site. We are building on the strength of the site to be a long-term, viable employer."...(more@link)