“Shaken but resilient” Natchitoches coping with soon closure of Red River Mill

CAMPTI, La. (KTAL/KMSS) – The International Paper announced that four mills in the United States will close by April 2025. One of the mills is Red River Mill in Campti in Natchitoches Parish.

“It’s very difficult for people to go to work who’ve been working there 10, 15, 20, 30 years and then not knowing anything and all of a sudden you know, you’re going to be out of a job in less than two months,” said Ronnie Williams, Mayor of Natchitoches.

People like Byron Parrott, who has been an employee at International Paper Red River Mill for 29 years. He described hearing the news as a “sucker punch.”

“It was caught off hand, people- we kind of had an idea, heard some rumors of the mill might be shutting down, but you never expect it to be this soon,” said Parrott.

Parrott says he has been told almost 500 direct employees at the Red River Mill alone will be laid off. The number is even higher with indirect jobs.

“The plant itself has been a really good mill, like I said I’ve been there for 29 years, it’s been there for 50 years. And we was really a productive mill, and we put out a lot of paper, but I think it was just a business decision from the company to shut the mill down,” said Parrott.

Mayor Williams says this is devastating news for people impacted as well as for the city of Natchitoches with property and sales taxes.

The mayor says despite the devastating news, Natchitoches Parish is resilient.

“It’s going to make us work together even closer than what we’ve been doing from city government, parish government, chamber, university, other economic development professionals,” said Mayor Williams.

The Louisiana Workforce Commission will be hosting two events on February 20th and21st to support displaced workers. Individuals will have access to application assistance, resume writing, training grants, career counseling, and more.

Mayor Williams adds, “I think we’re going to achieve some great things going to bring some more high-quality jobs you know that were lost so just stay tuned, stick with us, I’m committed, I know other people are committed, to a more sustainable future for the residents of Natchitoches.”