Georgia-Pacific to close Coos Bay mill, lay off 111

COOS BAY, Ore. (AP) – Georgia-Pacific Wood Products has notified employees at its Coos Bay lumber mill that it will shutter the facility and lay off all of the site’s 111 workers.

The Oregonian/OregonLive reports Georgia-Pacific’s western lumber general manager, Bill Goodman, wrote to state officials Thursday saying job cuts will begin June 10 and continue in phases until the Coos Bay facility is completely closed.

The Atlanta-based pulp and paper company said Asian competition for Oregon logs made it more expensive to supply the Coos Bay mill. And Georgia-Pacific said the prolonged closure of Coos Bay’s swing span railroad bridge made it more difficult to ship products from the site.

The 100-year-old bridge has been closed for over a year but is scheduled to reopen in a couple weeks.

Georgia-Pacific’s Coos Bay facility opened in 1994. It produces dimensional lumber — 2x4s, 2x6s and similar products.