Verso To Lay Off 300 Workers In Franklin County

Verso Paper Corp. on Thursday announced a plan to lay off 300 employees at its mill in Jay.

Company officials said the layoffs are due to a decline in demand. Officials also said the high cost of doing business in Maine affected its decision.

The company will shut down a pulp dryer and a paper machine, resulting in hundreds of layoffs by the end of this year or in early 2016.

“Decisions to reduce production capacity are never easy,” said Verso CEO David Paterson. “They are especially difficult for the employees and their families who are directly affected by these actions. Verso is committed to treating all of our impacted employees with fairness, dignity and respect and to communicating openly and honestly with each individual about how this decision will affect him or her.”

In addition to the job cuts in Jay, the company says another 310 layoffs will affect workers at a mill in Kentucky.

More than 500 people lost their jobs when Verso closed its mill in Bucksport last year.