475 Employees Laid Off

jill927
jill927 Posts: 471 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
RANT!!

So, I work as summer-help at a paper mill here in good ole Wisconsin, but today, the company announced that they will be shutting our mill down. I am one of 475 employees that will be laid off as of August 11. For me, not such a big deal, I was going to be done there at the end of the summer anyway, as a college student. However, my dad, 2 of my uncles, and my cousin are all also getting laid off. We live in a town of about 6,000 people, so this is really going to screw with our town. I'm bummed too, because I was hoping to get overtime for the rest of the summer to try to get as much money for school as possible, but now I probably am not going to be able to cover school without extensive loans, since they also laid us off for the month of July. :grumble:

Replies

  • jill927
    jill927 Posts: 471 Member
    RANT!!

    So, I work as summer-help at a paper mill here in good ole Wisconsin, but today, the company announced that they will be shutting our mill down. I am one of 475 employees that will be laid off as of August 11. For me, not such a big deal, I was going to be done there at the end of the summer anyway, as a college student. However, my dad, 2 of my uncles, and my cousin are all also getting laid off. We live in a town of about 6,000 people, so this is really going to screw with our town. I'm bummed too, because I was hoping to get overtime for the rest of the summer to try to get as much money for school as possible, but now I probably am not going to be able to cover school without extensive loans, since they also laid us off for the month of July. :grumble:
  • rmcotter777
    rmcotter777 Posts: 34 Member
    I am sorry to hear that , we here in Hickory, NC feel your pain, When the economy took a plunge, us the furniture capital of the world suffered. I didnt work in the industry but I had a lot of friends that were and had to learn new trades. it is hard, but your town will get thru it and you will be stronger afterwards.
  • tilly6277
    tilly6277 Posts: 202
    That sucks big time! I am also from Wisconsin. I live in Baraboo, where are you from?
  • DeannaK
    DeannaK Posts: 178 Member
    this happened in my town too (bellingham, wa).. they laid off 600 workers at the paper mill - one of the largest "family wage" job providers here.. then they laid off another 200, i believe.. and now i think it's completely shut down and made into a waterfront park and "urban village." no more family wage jobs coming from there.. that's a huge hit in our town :(
  • Lexino
    Lexino Posts: 153 Member
    I hear ya too...I live in Janesville, WI, and as you might know GM is going to be shutting down. I know A LOT of people who work for GM. It's really sad
  • jill927
    jill927 Posts: 471 Member
    Yeah I know a lot of people getting laid off in Janesville too.

    This mill is in Kimberly, Wisconsin, and the worst part is they refuse to even try to sell it to another company because they're shutting it down so we won't compete with the rest of their mills, since we have the biggest machines and apparently we're small but we're the most efficient. So tell me how that makes sense. ugh. It's not going to be good. This company just bought our mill in January, so essentially they bought us with the intention of shutting us down. boo.
  • Benson
    Benson Posts: 444
    I completely understand how you feel. My husband worked at a paper mill for 30 years - since high school and the mill shut down in Feb 2007 - He hasn't worked since. The whole industry is bottoming out here in Northwestern Ontario so all available jobs are scooped up and even if he could get something it would be for half the wage (although at this point that would be great as far as I'm concerned) The saddest of all is that there has been several suicides that are, at least in part, due to job loss. I will be hoping for a brighter tomorrow for you and your family and for all those affected.

    Heather
  • pmkelly409
    pmkelly409 Posts: 1,653 Member
    My heart goes out to all of you suffering in this economy. It is a terrible time but we have to look to the past and know that there is light at the end of the tunnel. This is where the tough get tougher.

    I am in the housing industry and we have just gone through 5 rounds of layoffs in the past year and we 're-organize' monthly as they shift the remaining people around. It is humbling, sad, scary, and frustrating everyday. But everyday you get up, put your pants on, eat a good breakfast and face the day - one day at a time...

    Best wishes to you and your families - stay positive. :flowerforyou:

Categories