KINGSPORT, Tenn. (AP) - Paper company Domtar Corp. is slowing production at its Kingsport paper mill to reduce inventory.
The plant, under different ownership, first starting producing paper in 1916 as the Kingsport Pulp Mill.
The mill employs about 300 people, but the company did not say how many jobs would be affected, according to media reports.
"At Domtar we must continually monitor our production output and inventory with that of customer orders," Domtar spokesman Mike Cunningham said in an email. "Accordingly, we are taking appropriate measures to reduce our inventory by slowing down production at our Kingsport Mill."
The company runs 13 pulp and paper mills in North America. Since 2000, about $600 million has been invested in the Kingsport location, and Domtar said $12 million in capital funds supported the facility in 2014.
Since it opened in the early 20th century, the mill has been acquired by four other owners - Mead in 1920, Willamette in 1995, Weyerhauser in 2002 and Domtar in 2007.
In 2015, Domtar said the mill and its Ridgefields converting facility generated 390 direct jobs, plus 750 indirect jobs with a regional economic impact of $200 million per year. The mill's annual payroll exceeds $35 million. The mill produces more than 420,000 tons of paper per year.