Kimberly-Clark’s decision to close two plants in the Fox Cities is another hit to the local paper industry.
About 610 people will lose their jobs at the Cold Spring plant in Fox Crossing and the Neenah Nonwovens facility. Around 500 of them are in Fox Crossing, and 110 are in Neenah.
Going back to last summer, the overall total job loss in the industry is about 1,400. That includes about 600 at the Appleton Coated mill in Combined Locks, and 200 at Appvion.
Republican Sen. Roger Roth is from Appleton. He says if there’s something the state can do, he would work on it. He says the industry is going through a shift, because of technology and innovation.
Republican Rep. Mike Rohrkaste of Neenah says changing markets are impacting Kimberly-Clark. He says they have strong competition and pricing has been eroded because of that. He says online sales have hurt their margins as well.
Democratic Rep. Amanda Stuck of Appleton accused Republicans of giving away billions of dollars in taxpayer money to Foxconn, instead of focusing on existing companies. She says it can be difficult for people to find another job that pays as much as they were making at a mill.
