The November closure of Georgia-Pacific plywood and stud mills in Crossett, Ark., will have an effect on the northeastern Louisiana economy, as many of the 700 people losing their jobs live in Louisiana, officials tell The News-Star. State Sen. Mike Walsworth, R-West Monroe, says the closure is a blow to the entire region. “I can tell you that many of my constituents in Morehouse Parish commute to Crossett to work at the Georgia-Pacific facilities,” Walsworth says. “Many of the people who live in Crossett also come to Monroe for medical and other services and to shop.”
Randy Barnett, manager of Pecanland Mall in Monroe, says Crossett is a direct link for the Monroe market. “We depend on regional traffic in Monroe. Anytime jobs are lost or created within 75 miles of Monroe, we’re all affected,” he says.
When Georgia-Pacific announced the closure Friday, officials citied a “depression” in the residential and commercial construction market as forcing the company to shut down factories in southeastern Arkansas and Hawthorne, Fla. A Georgia-Pacific paper and consumer products operation that employs 1,400 people in Crossett is not being affected.
