Rumors Surface About Smurfit-Stone's Future in Hodge

Jackson Parish is buzzing Wednesday night with a frightening rumor: stories flying that the Smurfit-Stone paper mill is about to close down.

We sent NBC 10's Nathan Ledford to Hodge to try find out what's going on.

The last thing anyone wants to hear before the holidays is that their job might be in jeopardy.

But NBC 10 took phone calls from Smurfit-Stone workers all day, saying they're hearing the mill could close as early as January

The Smurfit-Stone mill in Hodge is one of 162 factories the company runs worldwide.

The company itself went into chapter 11 bankruptcy in January.

It makes paper and cardboard containers for consumer goods.

And when the economy tanked, so did much of its business. 

And the company has 3.5-billion dollars in debt.

I reached a company spokesman who would only say, quote, "We don't comment or speculate on rumors."

But the rumors are growing. 

People are afraid to talk on camera for fear of losing their jobs. 

But I talked with one woman who works for a company that supplies Smurfit-Stone. 

She says her bosses told her they'll no longer provide services to the mill starting in January.

And several workers told me they've been cleaning up the plant in recent weeks for visits from top corporate officials.

So we didn't get a definite yes from the company spokesman, but we didn't get a definite no either.

We’ll keep checking until we get answers.