Mar. 29—Many of the 200 workers at the Pactiv Evergreen satellite facility in Waynesville have learned they will be losing their jobs also, along with the 800-plus employees of the main paper mill in Canton.
Workers at the Waynesville facility have been in the dark until now, with no official word on whether they would remain open, and if so, for how long. That changed this weekend when lay-off notices showed up in their mailbox.
The notice informs workers of a "substantial reduction in operations that will result in permanent job eliminations."
When Pactiv Evergreen announced the mill closure on March 6, it only applied to Canton mill. A corporate statement said the company was "exploring strategic alternatives" for the Waynesville facility, leaving those workers uncertain about their fate.
This weekend, employees of the Waynesville facility received the same lay-off notice as those at the main plant in Canton — notifying them that their "expected" last day of employment would be June 9.
David Ledbetter, who's worked at the Waynesville facility for 11 years, had been suspicious that a closure was in their cards, as well.
"Once Canton went out, I figured we'd be going out, too," said Ledbetter.
The Waynesville facility applies a waterproofing coating to the paperboard manufactured at the Canton mill. Without a supply of paperboard coming from Canton, it seemed unlikely Waynesville would stay in business.
Workers speculate they were intentionally being kept in the dark to prevent them from quitting before finishing off the stockpile of paperboard at the Canton mill waiting to be coated.
"I think they were stringing us along to be honest with you. If they would just be straight up with us and let us know, we could make a plan," Ledbetter said.
Because workers at the Waynesville facility were led to believe they might stay open longer, they haven't jumped into the job market with the same gusto as those at the Canton mill.
The lay-off notice mailed to workers at the Waynesville site stated, "As you know, Pactiv Evergreen recently announced its intention to substantially reduce operations at its Waynesville facility, due to that facility's reliance on the Canton paper mill."
However, workers had gotten no such announcement, making the lay-off notice in the mail the first official word that they'd be losing their jobs also. Some speculated there was a chance Pactiv Evergreen may continue to ship in paperboard from elsewhere to be processed at Waynesville.