500 laid-off workers won't receive severance pay

ST. MARYS - More than half the workers at a south Georgia paper mill will not receive severance pay when it closes on Nov. 15, a company official said. <br> <br> More than 500 of the 900 laid-off workers at the Durango-Georgia Paper Co. millone of Camden County&#39;s largest employersare ineligible under language in union contracts, said Kenneth Bertram, executive vice president and general manager of the mill. <br> <br> Bertram said only St. Marys Railroad employees and machinists&#39; union workers will be eligible for severance pay. <br> <br> ``What it comes down to is, what does the contract say,&#39;&#39; The Florida Times-Union quoted Bertram as saying. ``It&#39;s pretty clear.&#39;&#39; <br> <br> He said the company&#39;s still negotiating with union representatives. He declined to give details. <br> <br> Union officials could not be reached for comment. <br> <br> Preliminary results of a recent study by the Georgia Department of Industry, Trade and Tourism said the closing could cause ripple effect leaving nearly 3,000 people jobless in southeast Georgia. <br> <br> The mill was purchased from the estate of Howard Gilman in 1999. <br> <br> The company shut down its last paper-producing machine last month a day after Gov. Roy Barnes announced a plan to save the mill. The paper machine was closed to address safety concerns, company officials said.