300 More Jobs Lost In Our Area

By Steve Alexander Reporter

Officials with Georgia-Pacific say they plan to shut down Monroeville plant. 300 More Jobs Lost In Our Area

Published: Tue, November 11, 2008 - 10:23 pm Last Updated: Tue, November 11, 2008 - 11:15 pm

Steve Alexander

There's another tough economic blow for a southwest Alabama city which has already seen hard times.
Officials with Georgia-Pacific announced Tuesday the Monroeville plant is shutting down in January.
300 jobs will be lost.
Only six months ago, the Vanity Fair company announced it would close its Monroeville plant in 2009, costing 180 jobs.
A Georgia-Pacific spokesperson, Julie Davis, told News Five by phone that "Because of continued challenges in the housing market, we announced to employees today that, early next year, we'll indefinitely idle the operations to our Peterman Plywood Mill."
Jim Rowell, the president of the Monroeville Chamber of Commerce, called the announcement "a devastating blow to the county."
Rowell also owns a business in Monroeville.
He said the decision "affects everything. It starts all the way from the trees out in the woods, the grocery stores, to the gas stations, to the small retail stores like mine."
Georgia Pacific was the talk of the evening at the Courthouse Café Tuesday.
One customer said, "A family has so much expendable income. I don't care what family it is, how much it is. And once that is taken, then that's it. I mean, you're trying to survive from that point on."
Lisa Collison is a private chef.
She said, "When there isn't a new influx of people, when your economic base is dying, people aren't going to entertain. People aren't going to go out to eat."
Tim McKenzie is an accountant and his wife is an attorney.
McKenzie said, "It's affected my business more so than hers because I have logging clients and people that work in the timber industry and they've had to cut back."
There is one hopeful note in the wake of Tuesday's announcement.
Georgia-Pacific officials said the facility is not being closed permanently.
They say it's being shut down for now and could re-open when the market improves.