“That adjective is being removed,” Van Den Brandt said.
He could not give a more precise timeframe for when layoffs will start, but he said that will be the subject of talks set to start Monday between Appleton and the United Steelworkers.
On Feb. 23, Appleton first announced that it will lay off 330 workers at its 1030 W. Alex Bell Road mill as it agrees to take base paper from Domtar, a Canadian producer that has supplied Appleton for decades.
About 100 workers will remain at the plant, pending an agreement with Local 266 of the Steelworkers, which represents local Appleton workers, the company has said. The local plant would become a thermal paper coating facility.
While there have been discussions so far between Appleton and the union, talks on the “effects” of the company’s decision will begin in earnest on Monday, the company said. Those talks will turn to worker severance packages, timeframes and more.
“It’s really all about respecting the people involved,” Van Den Brandt said.
Jimmy Allen, president of Steelworkers Local 266, agreed that company-union talks will now turn to how workers will be impacted. “We’re set to begin our effects bargaining this coming Monday,” he said.
“You can probably imagine,” Allen added when asked about the mood of workers at the plant.
This week in a conference call with industry analysts, Mark Richards, Appleton chairman, president and chief executive, said the Steelworkers will not have “veto power” over the company’s supply agreement with Domtar or its decision to cut 330 jobs from the West Carrollton plant.
“We intend to help all affected West Carrollton mill employees make a smooth transition and we look forward to completing the effects bargaining process in a productive and timely fashion,” Kerry Arent, Appleton human resources vice president, said in the company’s statement Friday.
Contact this reporter at (937) 225-2390 or tgnau@DaytonDailyNews.com.
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