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ESCANABA – Nineteen employees have recently been laid off at the Escanaba paper mill as a result of organizational restructuring at the plant since Verso acquired NewPage earlier this year, a company official said Tuesday.
The 19 jobs – all salaried positions – represent 13 percent of the mill’s 147 salaried employees, said Jackie Pride, communications and public relations manager at the Escanaba facility.
A total of 952 people are employed at the Escanaba plant, including those who were recently informed of their lay offs.
Verso Corporation, headquartered in Memphis, Tenn., acquired NewPage Holdings, Inc., including the Escanaba mill, in January. The transaction, originally announced in January 2014, was valued at about $1.4 billion.
“Since the acquisition of NewPage in January, Verso has been determining the most efficient and productive organizational structure for our facilities,” said Pride, adding that the local layoffs were the result of the company’s reorganization.
“Essentially, what led to this is Verso is redesigning the original structure of the Escanaba mill to more effectively align its people with the needs of the business,” Pride said.
At this stage, the recent layoffs affect employees only at the Escanaba paper plant and not at Verso’s other mills, Pride said.
With the acquisition of NewPage in January, Verso anticipated about $3.5 billion in annual sales company-wide with approximately 5,800 employees at eight paper mills in six states.
In addition to its mills in Michigan – including the plant in Quinnesec – Verso operates mills in Kentucky, Maine, Maryland, Minnesota and Wisconsin.
The 19 employees whose positions were recently eliminated in Escanaba will receive the company’s standard severance package, in addition to placement assistance, Pride sai .
Additional layoffs are not expected in the near future at the Escanaba plant, she said.
“The Escanaba mill will continue to operate with an undiminished focus on working safely and efficiently, providing our customers with the high quality product and exceptional service they have come to expect, and will continue being a responsible and supportive member of the community,” Pride said.
Verso Corporation is a leading North American producer of printing papers, specialty papers and pulp, according to its website.
Verso’s printing papers are used primarily in commercial printing, media and marketing applications including magazines, catalogs, books, direct mail, and retail inserts. The company’s specialty papers are used for labels and packaging.