Startling news for many families in Southwest Louisiana over the weekend. That news was that the Georgia-Pacific lumber facility in DeQuincy will be ceasing operations. That news means that in the next two months almost two hundred employees will be laid off.

A spokesperson for Georgia-Pacific, Yana Ogletree was quoted in a story published by KPLC Television yesterday.

Georgia-Pacific chose to idle the facility in hopes that we will see improved markets in the future. When you idle a plant it’s not a definite shutdown. It’s idled indefinitely. We will keep a small crew on staff to maintain the facility.

The company was very quick to suggest that the "idling" of the DeQuincy facility on Highway 12 was by no means the fault of the employees. The company suggested in comments that the COVID-19 pandemic was the major reason for the decision to cease operations.

City officials in DeQuincy have not yet put paper to pen on the exact impact the cessation of operations at Georgia-Pacific will mean for the city. Obviously, they are hoping that the plant will only be idle for a short while. It is hoped that business will pick back up as the nation comes out from under the coronavirus threat.

However, should Georgia-Pacific company leaders make the decision to permanently shutter the facility. Current employees in DeQuincy will have the option to apply for jobs at other plants operated by the company.

 

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