The November closing of the Foley Cellulose Mill in Perry will wreak economic havoc across the Big Bend and will cost Florida nearly 2,000 jobs and $9.9 million in state and local taxes, according to University of Florida economists.
A report from the UF Institue of Food and Agricultural Science describes the paper mill along the Fenholloway River as the main economic driver for a county where one in five residents live below the poverty line.
The Foley paper mill provides Taylor County workers a payroll of $77 million, and offers starting pay for most jobs that is nearly twice the state per capita income of $35,216.
IFAS calculated the Foley mill accounts for more than 12% of county jobs with 525 positions at the plant and another 500 jobs such as loggers and truckers directly dependent on it.
It also produces another $377 million in spending in Taylor County, population 21,283, more than the combined profit of Florida’s three National Football League teams.
It will take years for Perry to recover from Hurricane Idalia, mill closure
Georgia-Pacific announced it would shutter the paper mill along the Fenholloway River in September, two weeks after Hurricane Idalia pummeled Perry with 125 mph winds.
The Atlanta-based corporation said the “strategic decision” to close the plant had nothing to do with the hurricane and committed to a safe and orderly shutdown.
Local and state officials were blindsided by the announcement and a month later Perry is watching the main…
