Georgia-Pacific formally notified employees on Thursday, October 30, 2025, that it will permanently shut down its corrugated box manufacturing plant in Mt. Olive, Illinois, by December 31, 2025.
The closure will eliminate 134 jobs. The announcement immediately placed the facility into a wind-down phase and marked one of the most significant industrial job losses in rural Illinois this year.
Official Reason: Declining Orders Drive the Decision
The company stated the shutdown is the result of a decline in customer orders and an internal assessment showing the Mt. Olive facility can no longer competitively serve customers in the long term.
Georgia-Pacific emphasized the decision was strictly market-driven and not related to worker performance. Leadership described the move as necessary to align operations with sustained demand conditions in the corrugated packaging sector.
Workforce Impact: 134 Union Jobs Eliminated
The Mt. Olive facility employs approximately 134 workers, primarily hourly production employees represented by the United Steelworkers union. All of these positions will be eliminated once operations cease at the end of December.
The closure delivers an immediate and concentrated employment shock to a small community where manufacturing jobs offer limited replacement opportunities within close geographic range.
The 60-Day Wind-Down Period
Georgia-Pacific confirmed the plant will continue operating for 60 days following the October 30 notification.
During this time, the facility will complete existing customer orders and carry out a controlled shutdown of production equipment. The 60-day timeline aligns with federal notification requirements while giving employees a short window to prepare for job displacement before the December 31 termination date.
Georgia-Pacific Exits Illinois Manufacturing Operations
Following the Mt. Olive shutdown, Georgia-Pacific will have no remaining full manufacturing operations in the state of Illinois.
Only warehouse facilities will remain. The Mt. Olive property is owned by Georgia-Pacific, and the company has not yet announced post-closure plans for the site. The closure represents a complete operational manufacturing exit from the state.
Parent Company: Koch Industries
Georgia-Pacific is a wholly owned subsidiary of Koch Industries, one of the largest privately held companies in the United States. Strategic decisions regarding asset consolidation, capital investment, and plant closures fall under Koch’s broader corporate governance.
The Illinois shutdown reflects portfolio-level restructuring within one of the country’s largest diversified industrial enterprises.
Second Major Closure in 2025
The Mt. Olive plant is the second major Georgia-Pacific facility closed in 2025. In May 2025, the company permanently shut down its containerboard mill in Cedar Springs, Georgia, which resulted in the elimination of 535 jobs.
Together, the two closures account for 669 Georgia-Pacific manufacturing jobs lost in 2025.
Leadership Transition During Restructuring
The closures coincided with a major leadership change. Christian Fischer, who served as Georgia-Pacific’s CEO since 1989, retired at the end of October 2025, concluding a 36-year tenure. He was succeeded by Mark Luetters.
The timing of two major plant shutdowns in the same year as the CEO transition has drawn industry attention.
Expansion and Retrenchment Occurred Simultaneously
Despite the closures, Georgia-Pacific also pursued expansion in 2025. On October 22, 2025, the company finalized its acquisition of Anchor Packaging.
The purchase expanded Georgia-Pacific’s footprint in food packaging while corrugated capacity was being reduced, illustrating a strategic shift within the company’s product and market focus rather than a company-wide contraction.
Property Status and Site Uncertainty
Georgia-Pacific confirmed it owns the Mt. Olive plant property. As of the closure announcement, no redevelopment, sale, or repurposing plans have been disclosed.
The future of the site remains uncertain, leaving local officials and economic development groups without clear direction for potential reuse or job replacement tied directly to the former facility.
Legal Timing and Federal Notification Compliance
The closure notice was issued on October 30, 2025, with a scheduled shutdown on December 31, 2025, providing exactly 61 days of notice.
This timing aligns with federal Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification (WARN) Act requirements, which mandate at least 60 days’ notice for qualifying mass layoffs or plant closures.
Worker Support Measures
Georgia-Pacific stated it would assist affected workers through internal job placement resources, external employment support, and separation benefits governed by existing labor agreements.
These measures are intended to help employees transition during the limited wind-down period. However, the company has not released specific figures related to individual severance packages or relocation placements.
Corrugated Market Pressures
The company directly linked the closure to sustained weakness in corrugated box demand at the Mt. Olive facility. Corrugated packaging demand is closely tied to industrial shipping volumes and commercial distribution.
When order volumes fall below required operating thresholds, plant-level cost structures become difficult to sustain, triggering permanent shutdown decisions such as this one.
Broader Manufacturing Implications
The Mt. Olive closure reflects continued consolidation in U.S. manufacturing, particularly in capital-intensive materials industries.
The elimination of 669 jobs across two Georgia-Pacific facilities in 2025 underscores how plant-level economics can shift rapidly under changing market conditions. Even long-operating, unionized facilities remain vulnerable to sustained declines in order volumes.
A Defining Economic Moment for Mt. Olive
The closure of Georgia-Pacific’s Mt. Olive plant permanently removes 134 manufacturing jobs from a single Illinois community and ends the company’s full production presence in the state.
Combined with the Cedar Springs shutdown, it marks a defining chapter in Georgia-Pacific’s 2025 restructuring. For Mt. Olive, the loss represents not just job displacement, but the end of a long-standing industrial pillar.
Sources:
Packaging Dive
Recycling Today
American Recycler
TreeFrog Creative
Georgia-Pacific News
Strauss Borrelli PLLC
TCSG (Technical College System of Georgia)
WorkSource GA
Koch Industries corporate information