BATON ROUGE - Ralph Parms is a machine operator at the Georgia-Pacific paper plant near Zachary. He has a degree in industrial engineering, but he's attending a job fair this weekend.

"I talked to more than a few people. Some great companies and they're telling me that they like my stuff," Parms said.

Parms and hundreds of his fellow workers came out to a job fair held just for them at Zachary High School. About 650 employees at the plant are being laid off next month.

"So they can make a smooth transition, that's what this day is about," Georgia-Pacific Human Resource Manager Lamonica Solomon said.

According to Solomon, about 60 companies took part in this hiring event. She says Georgia-Pacific teamed up with the Louisiana Workforce Commission to help the GP workers find new jobs.

"It's important for us because we care about our people, and we want them to have a smooth transition," Solomon said.

Some of the companies at the job fair are not located in the Capital Region, but for these workers about to lose their jobs, that doesn't matter.

"If the money is right," Parm said.

The machine operator also says he's willing to drive an hour or more for the right job with the right pay and benefits.

"I got like 2-little boys so, if everything looks good, I willing to take that step to do that," Parms said.

Those who couldn't make it to Saturday's job fair can go to the Louisiana Workforce Commission's website to check out the companies that are hiring.