Georgia-Pacific shuts plant with 141 workers in Duluth

Updated: October 22, 2012 - 7:27 PM

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Atlanta-based Georgia-Pacific officially shut its wood products plant in Duluth on Friday, displacing 141 workers.

The closure, previously announced in late August, was scheduled to take place by the end of this month, much to the disappointment of Duluth Mayor Don Ness.

Georgia-Pacific officials have said that displaced workers could apply for other jobs throughout the company. Affected employees are being helped by job counselors at the Minnesota Workforce Center in Duluth.

The workers had manufactured a hard board wood that was used in car interiors.

The closing of the Georgia-Pacific mill comes two months after Verso Paper Corp. said it would not reopen its fire-damaged paper mill in Sartell. Some 250 workers lost jobs there.

Both closings reflect the state of the timber industry, which has been ailing since before 2006, when Ainsworth Lumber Co. shut two Minnesota plants and displaced more than 300 workers.

DEE DEPASS