RUMFORD – MeadWestvaco officials confirmed Tuesday that they have begun notifying an unspecified number of salaried employees that they will lose their jobs within the next few weeks and months.

Ron Guay, director of human resources at the mill, said fewer than 30 salaried workers will lose their jobs. Some have already left the company through attrition or retirement. When all notifications have been completed, he said the number of salaried employees will be reduced by 30.

All laid-off employees will receive severance packages. He declined to provide details on those packages.

Hourly employees will not be affected by this most recent round of layoffs.

The layoffs are among 1,000 expected corporate-wide, according to a MeadWestvaco press release posted on the company’s Web site in January.

Guay said the mill plans to petition the federal Trade Adjustment Assistance program to help employees train for other jobs at equal or higher skill levels.

Last fall nearly 50 foresters were let go. The foresters were no longer needed once MeadWestvaco sold off virtually all of its half-million acres of forestland in the state. Many found jobs with the company that took over the management of the lands. Some didn’t, and have petitioned for TAA training. Whether that will come through won’t be known until next month.

Gary Hemingway, president of union Local 900, said he has been expecting the most recent layoffs. He said he saw at least six salaried employees leave the mill Tuesday.

“We are top-heavy with supervisors and foremen,” he said.

Hourly employees are expected to be kept busy, particularly over the next few weeks and months because of the planned start-up of No. 11 paper machine. “We are furiously working to start up by April 1,” he said.

MeadWestvaco Corp. is based in Dayton, Ohio. The local mill employs between 1,100 and 1,200 people.

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