International Paper to close South Carolina container plant

International Paper (IP) will permanently close its container plant in Georgetown, South Carolina, a move that will impact 126 employees, according to a Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification filed Feb. 18.

Layoffs are set to begin May 1 and the site is expected to be permanently closed by the end of the year.

"Recently, the company completed a strategic assessment of the Georgetown, SC facility and region,” IP says in a statement to The Post and Courier. “We made the difficult decision to cease operations at Georgetown later this year. We will assist employees and customers through this transition."

The move is part of a string of closures IP has announced as part of its ongoing streamlining efforts, including a previous closure in Georgetown.

In late 2024, IP closed its pulp and paper mill in Georgetown, impacting nearly 700 employees. The facility produced 300,000 tons of fluff pulp annually as well as uncoated freesheet paper it had sold to Sylvamo, and at the time of the announcement, Memphis, Tennessee-based IP said it planned to retain the mill’s fluff pulp capacity by transferring production to other mills.

Earlier this month, IP also revealed plans to close another box plant, this time its Yakima Box container facility in Union Gap, Washington, eliminating 102 jobs. The facility provided packaging and recycling products and services.

Along with closures of packaging facilities in Compton, California, and Louisville, Kentucky, IP has closed or sold four containerboard mills, four recycling facilities and three packaging facilities in 2025.

In mid-2025, the company also exited the molded fiber business and this January, completed the sale of its global cellulose fibers business unit to New York City-based private equity firm American Industrial Partners.

“International Paper is undergoing a transformational journey to become a stronger sustainable packaging solutions company,” the company said in a news release in February 2025. “A critical step in this journey is to streamline IP's footprint to focus investments on facilities that will best serve customers and accelerate strategic initiatives to improve quality, reliability and service delivery."