White Birch Paper Confirms Permanent Closure Of F.F. Soucy Mill In Quebec

White Birch Paper has formally notified employee representatives and Unifor union officials that it will permanently close the F.F. Soucy paper mill in Rivière-du-Loup, Québec, ending months of uncertainty for the site’s workforce. According to reporting by Le Journal de Montréal, management informed staff that the Rivière-du-Loup operation has filed for bankruptcy protection, with proceedings to be supervised by trustee Raymond Chabot. The mill, which had temporarily halted production at the end of July, had repeatedly postponed restart dates — first from early November and then to January — before the closure decision was confirmed. F.F. Soucy has capacity to produce about 265,000 metric tons per year of newsprint and specialty papers on two paper machines and employs roughly 175 workers, highlighting the regional industrial and employment impact. The shutdown underscores continued structural decline in North American newsprint demand and mounting pressure on older mechanical paper assets.