Document reveals AbitibiBowater restructuring plan

CBC News has obtained a confidential document outlining AbitibiBowater's plans for the woodlands division, including job cuts, at the paper mill in Grand Falls-Windsor.

The document, presented to some unionized workers at a meeting Tuesday, is part of overall restructuring the company plans to implement  to reduce operating costs and keep the mill open.

In the document, AbitibiBowater says it will completely reorganize the woodlands division, which includes loggers and harvesters, and turn control of the operation over to a general contractor.

The wood will be chipped off site by contractors instead of at the mill, and the existing chip room will close.

The plan calls for 22 jobs to be cut, but says four of those workers are eligible for early retirement.  

Silviculture operations will also be phased out as the workforce is reduced, with the company again turning to contractors to handle the work.  

One division — called the manual cut and bunch classification — will be eliminated altogether. The Black Duck Camp will be shut down.  

AbitibiBowater also plans to save money by eliminating accommodations for workers who commute. They would be paid a fixed allowance of $30 a day.

In the document, AbitibiBowater says it wants to supply quality fibre to the mill in a safe and efficient manner at the lowest possible cost.  

The union, Communications, Energy and Paperworker Local 60N, said it was premature to comment on the document, noting some of the workers haven't been briefed.  

Workers leaving Tuesday's meeting said they were asked not to comment to the media. They only said that they were asked to vote on whether they would accept the deal.