Resolute Forest Products has announced it will idle the Bowater Mersey mill in Brooklyn indefinitely.

The shutdown will take effect on Sunday.

A release from Resolute states the mill is no longer competitive due to declining export markets for newsprint.

“The decision to indefinitely idle production at the facility was difficult as we are mindful of the impact it will have on affected employees and local communities,” says President and CEO Richard Garneau in a release. “We have worked diligently with the provincial government, our employees, union leadership and other stakeholders but simply could not overcome the inherent challenges.”

About 320 people will be affected by the shutdown.

Resolute say the company is “assessing the feasibility” of selling its assets in Nova Scotia, including timberlands, the mill, sawmill, and Brooklyn Power.

Premier Darrell Dexter says the closure of the Bowater mill comes as a “huge blow” to the workers, their families and entire community of Queens County.

The province stepped in last year in an effort to save the struggling mill, offering a $50-million bailout which included $25-million in land purchase.

The Premier is standing by that decision to purchase, even though the mill is closing anyway.

“The alternative would be to abandon the community and to walk away,” he said. “That’s not something we’re going to do. If there was a possibility of supporting a long-term industry here, we were going to support that industry and the communities and that’s I believe as it should be.”

Dexter says the province will continue to support the people of Queens County through this difficult time.

“Through Labour and Advanced Education, there will be support for (laid-off workers) as they look for new employment possibilities,” he says. “Although this is a difficult day, we must look at it now as point of departure and there must be a way forward. I believe that way forward has to be led from the community as well as from the province and we’ll announce shortly how that will take pace.”

Dexter says he has already begun discussions to appoint a transition advisor to work with the community, local business leaders and the municipalities to help keep the economy growing.