AbitibiBowater to Curtail Production

AbitibiBowater Inc. said it plans to idle or permanently close at least four paper mills and lay off approximately 1,100 employees as a result of the closures. The company will permanently close the Grand Falls, Newfoundland and Labrador newsprint mill by the end of the first quarter of 2009, removing 205,000 tons from the marketplace. AbitibiBowater will also permanently close the Covington, Tennessee paper converting center by the end of 2008, representing 70,000 tons of coated grades. The production curtailment includes the immediate idling of the Alabama River newsprint mill in Alabama and two paper machines in Calhoun, Tennessee. In all, the capacity reductions include approximately 830,000 tons of newsprint, 110,000 tons of specialty grades and 70,000 tonnes of coated grades.