Canfor to curtail sawmill operations to close out dismal 2019 for forestry sector
Credit to Author: Derrick Penner| Date: Tue, 26 Nov 2019 00:27:49 +0000
Canfor Corp. will shut down its sawmill operations for two weeks starting Dec. 23, making it the second B.C. lumber company to announce it is putting workers on down time to close out the year.
“The curtailments are not a reflection on our hard-working employees or contractors,” said Stephen Mackie, Canfor’s senior vice-president for Canadian operations in a statement on Monday.
“We appreciate all of their efforts and continued commitment to safety during these difficult times,” Mackie said, although 2,100 employees will lose work over the period as 10 mills are shut down for two weeks.
The exception will be Canfor’s WynnWood mill north of Creston, which will be shut for just five days.
The move will pare back Canfor’s output by 58 million board feet of lumber, which is in addition to other announced shutdowns over 2019.
Canfor’s Mackenzie sawmill remains on an indefinite hiatus, and the company permanently closed its Vavenby sawmill, near Clearwater, putting 172 employees out of work.
“We know it has been a difficult year for our employees, contractors, their families and the local communities,” Mackie said in the statement.
Mackie said the company “deeply regrets” the decisions, but they were made in the face of high log costs and weak markets for lumber, which make operating conditions in B.C. uneconomic.
Canfor’s announcement follows Tolko Industries’ announcement on Nov. 15 that it will shut down its operations from Dec. 21 to Jan. 6 to trim its output by 21 million board feet of lumber and 10 million square feet of construction panelling.
Tolko has announce the permanent closure of two sawmills this year, the Quest sawmill in Quesnel at the cost of 150 jobs, and its Kelowna sawmill, resulting in the loss of 219 jobs.