Toronto, ON — This month got off to a difficult start for close to 140 Norampac employees in Toronto. The company, a division of Cascades, closed its boxboard mill on Sept. 14. While the shutdown has…
Toronto, ON — This month got off to a difficult start for close to 140 Norampac employees in Toronto. The company, a division of Cascades, closed its boxboard mill on Sept. 14. While the shutdown has been labeled indefinite, president and CEO of Norampac, Marc-Andr Dpin, cited high labour, fibre supply and energy costs as factors precipitating the closure.
“Unfortunately, we do not have any other choice at this point than to suspend the mill’s operations,” he said.
According to a recent report by the Toronto Star, the closure comes on the heels of a refusal of the Communications, Energy and Paperworkers Union to concede to lower wages, cropped vacation pay, and a decrease in overtime rates, as was communicated in a letter from the company to employees. The letter also detailed further measures that entailed layoffs, energy savings and improvements made to the management of raw materials. The Star further reported that CEP officials informed the company its members unanimously rejected the request for concessions.
The mill has an annual production capacity of coated recycled boxboard of roughly 180,000 tons. During the shutdown period, production will shift to the company’s mills in East Angus and Jonquire in Quebec, and Versailles in Connecticut.
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