Most of the workers at a shuttering Georgia-Pacific plant are facing unemployment at the end of the year due to Koch Industries most recent cuts. Koch subsidiary, Georgia-Pacific, announced the closure of its Dixie Plant in Parchment, Michigan on Friday. The Kochs’ move is a devastating loss to the city as it was the last remaining paper producer in the town nick-named “Paper City” for the many paper companies it once was home to. Parchment Mayor Rob Heasley said he was shocked by the move since he believed the plant was doing well.
The impending closure is a stark reminder — while the Koch brothers gear up to spend nearly $900 million picking a conservative Republican and try to buy the White House, they have a long history of destroying livelihoods and families. The historic closing is just the Kochs’ latest maneuver to increase Georgia-Pacific’s profits. In Michigan, the Kochs’ Americans for Prosperity is fighting to end the state’s prevailing wage — just like they did with Gov. Mike Pence in Indiana. And since acquiring the company in 2005, Koch Industries has laid off thousands of workers across the country.
In North Carolina alone, Georgia-Pacific has been responsible for the layoffs of more than 500 workers. In January, their Halsey, Oregon plant announced an additional 40 layoffs. And this isn’t the first time Michigan has taken the brunt of Koch Industries cuts: in 2006, Georgia-Pacific closed its Gaylord, Michigan plant costing the state 210 jobs.
Read more on the Kochs’ Legacy of Loss here.