Domtar to temporarily lay-off 60 employees at Rothschild mill
April 28, 2020
ROTSHCHILD, Wis. (From news reports) -- Domtar is temporarily laying off 60 employees at their mill in Rothschild for the next twelve weeks. The mill has around 400 employees, meaning just under one in seven people are affected.
We met with employees today, and we are going to adjust our shifts at the Rothschild mill for approximately the next twelve weeks," said Craig Timm, a regional public affairs manager for Domtar. "Regrettably there will be about 60 employees that will temporarily laid off."
The company is using the term "temporary layoffs" and not furloughs, but says that those affected will remain employees of Domtar.
The company has seen a downturn in business with schools and colleges being closed, and many companies doing all of their work outside the office because of COVID-19. Domtar's announcement is a result of that.
"It's affecting our short term demand for communication paper grades," Timm said. "Specifically universities, schools and businesses."
Timm could not get into details about whether those employees would be kept on any sort of salary or have access to benefits during this time period. He added that the twelve week window is tentative, and if the market improves, they may bring back those employees sooner than that.
