Bastrop is a city in and the parish seat of Morehouse Parish, Louisiana, United States. The population was 12,988 at the 2000 United States Census. It is the principal city of and is included in the Bastrop, Louisiana Micropolitan Statistical Area, which is included in the Monroe-Bastrop, Louisiana Combined Statistical Area.

International Paper Company mill closing

On November 21, 2008, International Paper Company, the largest area employer, announced that it will cease operations of its Bastrop mill. The company said the closure is'indefinite'and subsequently confirmed that the exodus is'permanent'. >http://www.thenewsstar.com/article/20081213/NEWS01/812130312...

Bastrop is a city in and the parish seat of Morehouse Parish, Louisiana, United States. The population was 12,988 at the 2000 United States Census. It is the principal city of and is included in the Bastrop, Louisiana Micropolitan Statistical Area, which is included in the Monroe-Bastrop, Louisiana Combined Statistical Area.

International Paper Company mill closing

On November 21, 2008, International Paper Company, the largest area employer, announced that it will cease operations of its Bastrop mill. The company said the closure is'indefinite'and subsequently confirmed that the exodus is'permanent'. >http://www.thenewsstar.com/article/20081213/NEWS01/812130312 At least 550 workers will lose their jobs. Another two thousand employees in auxiliary businesses, some 17 percent of the area workforce, could also face layoffs or downsizing. Bastrop Mayor Clarence Hawkins said that he expected the impact to be spread throughout northeastern Louisiana and southern Arkansas because employees and suppliers come from all over the region. >http://www.thenewsstar.com/article/20081122/NEWS01/811220310-referrer=FRONTPAGECAROUSEL

Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal deployed a Louisiana Work Force Commission team to open an information center in Bastrop. Jindal requested that U.S. Senator Mary Landrieu and U.S. Representative Rodney Alexander work for the extension of unemployment compensation for the displaced workers. Jindal indicated that he will pursue an economic transition plan for Morehouse Parish. The governor explained that the closure resulted because is'simply no market for [pulp] produced at this mill. I don t want to sugarcoat this. There would have to be a dramatic change in the world economy for it to reopen, and it would have to strengthen as quickly as it weakened. 'Jindal said the state offered'more direct assistance to International Paper than we have to any other company since I ve been governor. 'The company, however, explained that the issue was no longer one of inducements to stay but the vanished market. The largest customer of the Louisiana mill was China, where orders ceased with international economic downturns and the tightening of credit markets. >http://www.thenewsstar.com/article/20081125/NEWS01/811250309-referrer=FRONTPAGECAROUSEL

Pilgrim's Pride operations close