Cascades Inc. is closing its Auburn mill that produces de-inked pulp from recycled paper, laying off 45 employees, according to a release the company posted on its website Wednesday.

The plant will end production July 8 and close its doors on July 15.

“The rapid erosion of the printing and writing paper market, the overall deterioration of market conditions for de-inked pulp and the low potential for integration with other Cascades activities are all factors that have had significant negative consequences for our Auburn plant,” said Luc Langevin, president and chief operating officer of Cascades Specialty Products Group. “Despite major efforts to optimize in the past year, the situation at the plant remained extremely difficult. Therefore, we are unfortunately forced to cease operations.”

De-inking is the process of removing ink from paper fibers and recycled paper.

Madison Paper Industries in Madison closed in May, becoming the fifth Maine mill to shut down in slightly more than two years in the wake of declining demand and changing consumer habits in global markets.

The state’s paper industry has lost roughly 2,300 jobs since 2011. There now are about 6,000 paper workers in Maine, roughly one-third of the workforce during the industry’s peak in the 1960s.

Cascades, a Canadian manufacturer of recycled packaging and tissue paper products, will look into relocating staff to other plants and will help workers find new employment, the release said.

Cascades produces packaging and tissue products made from recycled fibers. The company employs 11,000, who work at nearly 90 plants in North America and Europe, according to the news release.