Springhill's Georgia-Pacific plywood plant and sawmill will shut down indefinitely, leaving 400 employees with no immediate hope of re-employment, company officials said.

More than 200 of those workers attended an afternoon meeting on Tuesday, during which the announcement was made.

Georgia-Pacific shut down the facility and laid off the workers in late January, citing a downturn in the housing and commercial construction markets.

Company officials said they would reconsider the work stoppage this month.

Georgia-Pacific is not calling the shutdown a permanent closure, as was the case in October with its plant in Logansport, causing 280 people to lose their jobs.

Company officials said a small crew will remain at the Springhill mill to maintain the machinery in case it's put back on line.

Last year, Georgia-Pacific paid International Paper Company $237 million for the Springhill plant and four other wood products mills in Texas, Arkansas and Alabama.

From The Associated Press