PCA temporarily idles paper mill in Jackson, Alabama

PCA paper mill in Jackson announced to its employees last week a layoff of virtually all of its 400-plus workers and a temporary idling of the mill due to economic conditions and lower demand for products. High inventories of linerboard and cardboard boxes manufactured from the linerboard have been cited as the reason to temporarily suspend manufacturing to let inventories catch up with demand.

In mid-2020, at the height of the Covid-19 pandemic, the PCA paper mill in Jackson laid off employees and idled the mill for about two months because of a decreased demand for white copy paper. Once inventories diminished and the need for white paper increased, the mill reopened and recalled workers.

The Jackson mill at the time exclusively produced white paper. In 2021, PCA announced a $440 million project to convert one of the mill’s paper machines to produce linerboard, used for corrugated packaging such as cardboard boxes. The intent was to diversify and to produce the more popular and inhigher demand linerboard. Employees who are out of work can draw unemployment benefits. Many are also looking for temporary work and some say they are seeking a permanent job change.