AUGUSTA – Late Wednesday afternoon, Pixelle Specialty Solutions announced that it will permanently idle the third paper machine and will not rebuild the digester at the paper mill in Jay following the explosion earlier this year. Senate President Troy Jackson, D-Allagash, released the following statement in the wake of this afternoon’s news:

“As a logger by trade, I know all too well the difficulties and challenges that workers in Maine’s forest products industry are facing in today’s economy. To make matters worse, the pandemic has made a difficult situation in this industry even harder than it already was.

“My heart goes out to the people of Jay and the entire region who are dealing with this news on top of the initial tragedy at the mill back in April. The men and women at the Androscoggin Mill represent the best of Maine’s proud paper-making legacy. These workers — and the nearly 200 people who have been laid off in the past few months through no fault of their own — need to know that Maine’s elected officials have their back during this difficult time.”

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