Domtar to temporarily idle Ashdown business line

Domtar Corp. said it will idle workers in two plants, including one in Ashdown, Arkansas, for three months as business conditions have worsened due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The company said 142 employees in Ashdown and 304 employees in Kingsport, Tennessee will be laid off during the closure.

South Carolina-based Domtar said it would idle its A62 paper machine operations at the Ashdown plant during the three month period.

“The COVID-19 pandemic is having a negative impact on communication paper demand, with offices, businesses and schools still closed in a large part of our markets,” said John D. Williams, President and Chief Executive Officer. “Given the evolving market conditions, we are taking the appropriate steps to optimize our operations, which will ensure that we remain an agile, reliable partner to our customers. We regret the impact these temporary shutdowns will have on our Kingsport and Ashdown employees and their families, and we are doing everything we can to support them during this time.”

Domtar’s other facilities will remain fully operational, he said.

Domtar is a manufacturer of a wide variety of fiber-based products including communication, specialty and packaging papers, market pulp and absorbent hygiene products. It has approximately 10,000 workers worldwide.