AbitibiBowater is permanently closing Dolbeau and Gatineau

AbitibiBowater is permanently closing its two idled paper mills in Quebec:

• Dolbeau, Quebec


• Gatineau, Quebec

Dolbeau was idled in June 2009 putting 240 workers out of work. Gatineau was idled in April putting 330 people out of work.

Company spokesman Pierre Choquette said AbitibiBowater won't make any decision about selling or dismantling the sites until local studies are completed about potential alternative uses.

Renaud Gagne, vice-president of the Communications, Energy and Paperworkers Union in Quebec, said the union understands that Abitibi has a financial incentive to make this move under the Companies' Creditors Arrangement Act (CCAA) because of how severance will be treated differently. "But it's quite shocking for workers. They always pay the ultimate price because they won't receive some of the money they are owed," Gagne said.

Source:

AbitibiBowater permanently closes two idled Quebec paper mills that employed 570 (Canadian Press)