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November 10, 2025

Two Baileyville sister mills to lay off 146 workers for 26 days

A view across a body of water at industrial buildings. Photo / Courtesy of Woodland Pulp LLC Sister companies Woodland Pulp and St. Croix Chipping, both in Baileyville, will lay off 146 employees for 26 days.
By Laurie Schreiber

Sister companies Woodland Pulp LLC and St. Croix Chipping LLC will lay off 146 of their combined total of 340 employees for a 26-day-long period from  Nov. 20 through Dec. 16.

Both companies are in the Washington County town of Baileyville.

Full operations at both are projected to restart at 6 a.m. on Dec. 17. 

The downtime in operations is market-driven.

“We are presently in a very challenging global pulp market from a pricing point of view,” Scott Beal, the company’s manager, told Mainebiz in an email interview. “This is what has resulted in the need for the planned 26 days of downtime.”

“Any strengthening in the market with respect to demand and pricing would be a positive,” he added.

Another sister facility, St. Croix Tissue Inc., also in Baileyville, will not be affected.

The Maine Department of Labor announced last week that it will provide direct unemployment insurance support to employees affected by the temporary layoff.

Workforce

Of the two affected companies, Woodland Pulp has 302 employees and St. Croix Chipping has 38. 

St. Croix Tissue has 85 employees, who are not affected. Total employment for all three companies is 425.

Pulp and chips

Established in 1904, Woodland Pulp is the largest employer in Washington County, according to the state Center for Workforce Research and Information. It produces hardwood and softwood pulp sold to paper makers globally for a variety of paper-making applications.

Train cars hold tree trunks.
FILE PHOTO / MAUREEN MILLIKEN
Railroad cars loaded with timber are seen a number of years ago at Woodland Pulp in Baileyville.

St. Croix Chipping is a mill that chips tree-length wood. The plant was built in 1997 and acquired by Woodland Pulp in 2020.

St. Croix Tissue opened in 2016 to supply national and international markets with a range of products, including paper napkins and towels, in addition to bathroom and facial tissues

The three companies are adjacent to each other along the St. Croix River.

Unemployment insurance

The Maine Department of Labor said it will provide direct unemployment insurance support to employees affected by a temporary layoff at Woodland Pulp.

"The department has been in contact with both company management and union representatives to determine the best way to assist during this difficult time and has decided that in-person unemployment insurance support would be most helpful," Laura Fortman, the department’s commissioner, said in a separate release. “We will be there to connect employees with available resources and make the unemployment insurance benefit process as straightforward as possible."

Department staff is scheduled to be on-site in Baileyville during the week of Nov. 24 to provide individualized assistance to affected employees and connect them with appropriate resources during the layoff. 

Due to the short duration of the temporary layoff, impacted employees will be given a waiver exempting them from work search requirements associated with unemployment insurance.

"Woodland Pulp is a critical employer that provides hundreds of good-paying jobs in Washington County,” said Gov. Janet Mills. “My administration will do everything we can to support the mill and its workers through this period of economic uncertainty.”

Maine’s forest products industry contributes $8.3 billion to the state’s economy, according to a report released last month that compares data from 2019 and 2024.

The industry supports 29,000 jobs spread across all 16 counties; 7% of the employment is in the paper and logging sectors, although the paper sector is transitioning away from print paper toward products such as packaging and tissue, the report says.

Regional effects

Dana Doran, executive director of Professional Logging Contractors of the Northeast, said loggers and forest truckers across the region are being affected by curtailments and slowdowns in low-grade wood purchases by mills, including Woodland Pulp. 

"As a result of market uncertainty and the effects of the current trade war, low-grade markets similar to Woodland Pulp have been challenged," he told Mainebiz.

Mainebiz Deputy Editor Renee Cordes contributed to this report.

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