AV Nackawic pulp mill to shut temporarily, 350 jobs affected

AV Nackawic will halt operations at its pulp mill in Nackawic, New Brunswick, next month, leaving about 350 employees out of work. The company has described the shutdown as temporary. The mill is one of the community's largest employers.

Why this mattersThe stoppage takes a pulp mill out of regional supply and idles about 350 workers in a small New Brunswick community.

• About 350 employees at AV Nackawic will be out of work from next month.
• The company describes the shutdown as temporary.
• AV Nackawic is one of the largest employers in the community of Nackawic, New Brunswick.
• Unifor says over 200 union members will lose jobs from 4 November 2026
• AV Group NB is an affiliate of India's Aditya Birla Group
• All of the mill's pulp is sold to the textile industry, mostly to customers in Asia
• Company cites five years of rising production costs outpacing profits plus tariff-driven market instability
• The Nackawic mill, west of Fredericton, has operated for more than 50 years
• New Brunswick's Natural Resources Minister said the government is preparing support for affected workers
• More than 200 of the roughly 350 mill employees are Unifor union members
• New Brunswick's provincial government is assembling a cross-department response plan for workers, contractors and suppliers affected by the idling
• The idling also affects related timber harvesting, transport and maintenance services
• The government says the idling is not a permanent closure and is awaiting further detail from AV Group on duration and restart conditions
• Nackawic mill has annual capacity of approximately 190 KTPA of dissolving-grade pulp
• Idling attributed to prevailing market conditions and macroeconomic factors
• AV Group NB's separate Atholville pulp mill is unaffected