The lay-off of 82 workers at Flambeau River Papers is expected to have a major impact on the Park Falls area. The community only has a population of about 24-hundred residents and it will be difficult for the displaced workers to find similar, high-paying jobs.
Owner Bill Johnson says the move was forced on him because paper prices in the commodity grades have gone down, while pulp prices have gone up. Johnson and the other owners were able to re-open the paper mill a dozen years ago, providing 300 much-needed jobs to the region. The mill will keep operating with about 200 employees.
