At least 80 workers at Muskogee’s Georgia-Pacific plant are being laid off and the company blames the COVID-19 pandemic. It is the first layoffs ever at the plant.
The company issued a statement and explained the layoffs will be temporary and short-term.
“Because we match production to meet consumer demand, we must account for this decrease. This is a challenging time for many, but we hope to see continued mitigation behaviors in the public, allowing us to again serve the needs of commercial customers at levels aligned with full-capacity production.”
The layoffs represent an estimated 10% of the entire workforce at the Muskogee operation according to the Oklahoma Office of Workforce Development which received a WARN notice about the employment action.
The company indicated it is providing benefits for up to 12 weeks for the 80 laid-off employees. The Workforce Development office stated that Georgia-Pacific intends to rehire the workers once the commercial market improves.