"We could not find a viable long-term solution to return the two mills to profitability," said John Weaver, president and CEO. "These decisions are difficult but essential to achieve our objectives. We recognize the hard work of many committed people but after much effort, we simply could not overcome the inherent challenges facing these operations," added Weaver.
These decisions have resulted in the permanent removal of 344,000 metric tons of capacity, in addition to 90,000 metric tons previously announced.
Earlier this year Abitibi-Consolidated announced its plans to reduce its newsprint capacity by more than 450,000 metric tons. The Stephenville mill has an annual capacity of 194,000 metric tons; the Kenora plant has total capacity of 242,000 metric tons, 194,000 metric tons of newsprint and 50,000 metric tons of other paper.