International Paper Company plans to close several plants across the country, including its facility in north St. Louis which makes corrugated sheets to be later turned into boxes. The local closure will affect 72 workers.
The company announces it's shuttering four plants in total: a containerboard mill in northern Louisiana; a recycling plant in Phoenix, Arizona; a box plant in Hazleton, Pennsylvania, south of Scranton; and the sheet feeder facility located at 5300 Bircher Ave. in north St. Louis City.
In all, 674 jobs will be eliminated nationwide. The St. Louis facility will begin to close and the first employees will lose their jobs on April 14th.
Last fall, International Paper Company went through another contraction, closing a mill in South Carolina and other locations in North Carolina; Tennessee; Kansas City; and Rockford, Illinois.
In a WARN notice filed with the state of Missouri, which is a notification required by federal law in the case of large-scale lay-offs, International Paper calls it a "difficult decision." It says affected employees can apply for positions that may be open at International Paper locations in other areas.
According to the WARN notice, St. Louis hourly employees affected are represented by either United Steel Workers or the International Union of Operating Engineers. The list of job titles included in the lay-off ranges from engineers and technicians to HR coordinator.
International Paper also released a statement saying the cuts and closures are part of "a transformational journey to become a stronger sustainable packaging solutions company" and it intends to "focus investments on facilities that will best serve customers and accelerate strategic initiatives to improve quality, reliability and service delivery."