Just two weeks after 300 people learned they would be losing their jobs at Canfor's Prince George pulp and paper mill, the company says it will be closing another two mills in northern BC, this time in Chetwynd and Houston..Canfor said late Wednesday that it is permanently shuttering its Chetwynd sawmill and pellet plant, where 200 jobs are expected to be lost. It is also temporarily closing its Houston sawmill for an “extended period,” affecting hundreds of workers..The move is part of what the company calls calls a "restructuring" of its operations in the province.."We are making these difficult but necessary decisions to create a more sustainable operating footprint in BC,” said Canfor President and CEO Don Kayne in a statement..“Our goal is to match our mill capacity with the economically available fibre for harvest to enhance our ability to compete and to operate throughout the market cycles.”.Kayne says the move will create greater stability for employees and their communities while ensuring the continuation of “high quality, low carbon products" to customers around the world..In Houston, Canfor said it "intends to build a new, modern, globally competitive manufacturing facility that employs state of the art technology to produce high value products from the sustainable timber supply in the region.".The move follows the downsizing of several forestry companies around the world..Both Tolko Industries and Sinclar Forest Products announced earlier this week that BC operations will be cut, affecting more than 700 workers..Last week, the BC government said it will pony up $90 million in an attempt to support industrial manufacturing projects and create jobs in the withering forest industry as it continues suffering mill closures and layoffs..READ MORE: BC chips in up $90M to boost forestry industry
Just two weeks after 300 people learned they would be losing their jobs at Canfor's Prince George pulp and paper mill, the company says it will be closing another two mills in northern BC, this time in Chetwynd and Houston..Canfor said late Wednesday that it is permanently shuttering its Chetwynd sawmill and pellet plant, where 200 jobs are expected to be lost. It is also temporarily closing its Houston sawmill for an “extended period,” affecting hundreds of workers..The move is part of what the company calls calls a "restructuring" of its operations in the province.."We are making these difficult but necessary decisions to create a more sustainable operating footprint in BC,” said Canfor President and CEO Don Kayne in a statement..“Our goal is to match our mill capacity with the economically available fibre for harvest to enhance our ability to compete and to operate throughout the market cycles.”.Kayne says the move will create greater stability for employees and their communities while ensuring the continuation of “high quality, low carbon products" to customers around the world..In Houston, Canfor said it "intends to build a new, modern, globally competitive manufacturing facility that employs state of the art technology to produce high value products from the sustainable timber supply in the region.".The move follows the downsizing of several forestry companies around the world..Both Tolko Industries and Sinclar Forest Products announced earlier this week that BC operations will be cut, affecting more than 700 workers..Last week, the BC government said it will pony up $90 million in an attempt to support industrial manufacturing projects and create jobs in the withering forest industry as it continues suffering mill closures and layoffs..READ MORE: BC chips in up $90M to boost forestry industry
