JAY – Verso Paper plans to temporarily shift production operations on two of its machines to make pulp to save money in a slow market and declining economy.

There will be some layoffs during the four weeks of the shift, the last two weeks of February and March, but company spokesman Bill Cohen did not know how many.

The number of employees needed to make pulp is fewer than needed to make paper, Cohen said, so there will be some workers affected.

Verso notified workers through a letter Thursday about the impending plan. Representatives will meet individually with affected workers to explore their options, Cohen said.

There are more than 1,000 employees at the mill.

During the switch to making pulp, the No. 4 paper machine will be modified to make softwood pulp for Verso’s Bucksport Mill, Cohen said.

The No. 1 pulp machine, which currently makes softwood pulp for Bucksport, will make hardwood pulp for the Jay mill. The pulp will be put in storage to be used when certain parts of the mill are down for maintenance, he said.

Instead of going out in the market to buy pulp from outside providers, the company will use the stored pulp, he said, which will save money for the company.

In this market, businesses try to reduce expenses and keep people working, Cohen said.

“You try to reduce costs and try to look out at the market, so you have a balancing act going on. That’s why we do it in short increments of time,” he said.

When you have an integrated mill, you look at all the elements of the process to see if there are costs that could be lowered or eliminated, he said.

The company needs to save money, Cohen said, but is trying to be sensitive to employees.

Bucksport Mill’s B2 paper machine has been down since November 2008, he said, due to market times and the economy. The company is doing everything it can, where possible, to try and get some work time for those affected workers, he said.

Other paper mills in Maine are also struggling in the recession. Wausau Paper’s mill in Jay and NewPage’s mill in Rumford have either laid off workers permanently or are in the process of doing so. Combined, it is expected to put about 250 people out of work.