JAY — Wausau Paper company plans to mothball its Jay paper mill and sell it and the equipment but not to an industry competitor, company spokesman Perry Grueber said.

The company announced Tuesday that it would cease operations at its Jay Otis Mill by May 31 putting about 96 workers out of jobs.

It is the second lay-off since Dec. 14 when Wausau shutdown No. 10 paper machine, laying off about 150 workers, and will shut down No. 11.

The company had planned to focus on making masking-tape backed specialty paper on its No. 11 machine but the economy has gotten much worse since last year, Grueber, director of investor relations, said Wednesday.

It will depend on customer orders between now and May 31 to determine the last day for No. 11, Grueber said.

The closure is driven by the high cost of operating the Jay mill along with economic recession and other factors.

Customer orders for the specialty products made at the mill will be shifted to two of Wausau’s mills in Wisconsin, Grueber said.

“It is a surprise. We thought things were doing better,” Mike Castaneda, president of the United Steelworkers Union Local 4-0011.

A mill official had previously told employees that the Jay mill was still within budget set in December.

Castaneda lost his job during the first round of lay-offs and is now working as a peer support worker for fellow workers, will be doing the same for the remainder of the work force.

Castaneda said company officials called workers in at 4 p.m. Tuesday to tell them about the closure of the mill.

“I did ask them if they were going to sell the mill and they said yes, but not to any paper company in North America,” Castaneda said.

Workers to lose their jobs will receive a severance package, he said, but the details have not been worked out.

The mill may stay open past the May deadline to allow the company to close it up, Grueber said.

Jay Town Manager Ruth Marden is pulling together information on the financial affect the closing of the Otis Mill here will have on her town.

But Marden said early Wednesday her first priority was to help the families of the 246 workers who are losing their livelihoods.

“I am extremely concerned about the people losing their jobs and on the ripple affect on the families and the community, and the small businesses that relay on local workers for their bread and butter,” Marden said.