When Verso Paper Corp. shuttered its paper mill in Bucksport last December, 575 workers lost their jobs.
Many have found new jobs, but 80 are still looking for employment, the Ellsworth American reported Thursday, citing surveys by Eastern Maine Development Corp.
Many workers have re-entered manufacturing, either at paper mills or other industries. Some have started their own businesses, entered fields such as real estate or maintenance, or are taking classes in everything from HVAC to sociology. Around 50 workers have retired.
Cindi Eaton, 37, of Deer Isle, managed the mill’s wastewater treatment plant for the mill’s last two years, and also worked there from 2000 to 2005. She told the paper that she recognized the changes in the U.S. paper industry while she was at the mill, so she started taking real estate courses. Now, she’s a full-time sales agent at the Island Agency, a real estate firm.
The EMDC’s transition center in Orland is staffed by career advisors and two former Verso workers who have assumed support roles.
Support worker Lynn MacEwen told the paper that some older mill workers unable to find new jobs may soon be forced to apply for retirement and Social Security.
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