The Daily Inter Lake
Plum Creek Timber Co. announced plans Thursday to reduce production yet again, costing 145 more workers their jobs at four sawmills and the medium density fiberboard plant in Columbia Falls.
Another 221 workers at the Evergreen and Columbia Falls sawmills temporarily are out of jobs until March.
The Ksanka mill at Fortine will close permanently in March, a move that will mean a loss of jobs for 74 employees, according to a company press release.
Plum Creek is the second-largest private employer in the Flathead Valley.
The company also will temporarily curtail operations at the Evergreen sawmill for the rest of January,
February and potentially March, putting 88 people out of work.
Both Ksanka and Evergreen mills produce stud grade lumber for home construction. When lumber markets improve, Plum Creek officials said the Evergreen sawmill will have the capacity to absorb some of the volume previously produced at Ksanka.
Plum Creek's two pine board sawmills, in Pablo and Columbia Falls, also will see cuts.
The Pablo sawmill will reduce its operating level from the current 1.5 shifts to one shift, putting 36 employees out of work effective immediately.
The pine board sawmill at Columbia Falls will temporarily curtail production for the rest of January, February and possibly into March, putting 133 people out of work. The pine board sawmill products are used primarily in home repair and remodeling.
At the Columbia Falls medium density fiberboard plant, each of the two production lines will scale down to two shifts beginning on Jan. 19. That will cut the MDF work force by 35 people.
The job losses were attributed to unprecedented housing sector troubles and a continuing drop in demand for wood products.
"The forest products industry in general and the lumber business in particular have been severely impacted by the battered housing market," said Rick Holley, Plum Creek president and chief executive officer.
"The closure of the Ksanka stud mill and reductions in production levels at our other facilities are painful steps to take due to the job losses and impacts to a number of our valued employees. Unfortunately, these steps are necessary to match supply with the eroding demand for our wood products."
Thursday's announcement comes on the heels of a series of layoffs at Plum Creek's Montana facilities in 2008.
On Sept. 11, the MDF plant laid off about 35 workers and reduced its four rotating shifts to three.
The finger-joint stud remanufacturing plant was closed in Evergreen, and 24 workers went home without jobs on Sept. 30.
Then on Nov. 21 the company laid off 68 workers from its Evergreen and Columbia Falls plywood plants and scaled back the Evergreen plant to two rotating shifts.
Remaining workers at all plants were furloughed for two weeks in December.
Plum Creek said it will provide severance pay to the affected employees at the Ksanka, Pablo and MDF facilities. In compliance with federal law, the Ksanka mill employees were provided with a 60-day advance notice of the mill closing.
The announcement came on the same day that Semitool Inc. began laying off 200 people from its plants in Kalispell and Libby.
Matthew Koehler
"Unfortunately, these steps are necessary to match supply with the eroding demand for our wood products." - Rick Holley, Plum Creek president and chief executive officer (in the Plum Creek press release). "Eroding demand for our products" isn't exactly the language any corporate executive wants to use about their industry; however, finally the timber industry is being straight and honest with the public, which is a good thing. Remember, as recently as a few months ago (and certainly over the past five years as many of us warned of the dire economic consequences of over-consumption and over-development) the timber industry and their supporters were still telling us that they needed more trees from national forests to solve their problems. That was never the case during this emerging economic crisis and it certainly isn't the case when you consider that Plum Creek is the largest private land own in Montana (and the nation) and has unlimited access to their own timber lands. Hopefully, elected officials and the public will now better understand the true and honest scope of the situation facing the timber industry so that we can better move forward with solutions. I've said all along that solutions not
toadzilla
Well thank you Matthew for once again getting your all so important thoughts to us in regards to the ills of the timber industry. Hey, maybe you could chill on the babble for awhile and think about the folks that are out of work and have mouths and mortgages to worry about. Let's set aside the agenda for awhile and instead using this story to be play local Michael Moore think about the humans who actually work at these plants! Let the sting fade before you take a great big corn infested dump on their employment wounds.
Matthew Koehler
Excuse me Toad? Where am I taking a crap on anyone? I'm simply trying to help accurately figure out the problem so that proper solutions can be obtained. I see that the last part of my first comment got cut off, so here it is again. Would you rather me be like the logging lobbyists and just blow smoke up everyone's collective bottoms and call for more logging (even though Plum Creek, in the related article, is telling its logging contractors to stay out of the woods)? How does that help people? I see plenty of jobs in a future that's more clean, green and sustainable...sorry if you don't. Anyway, here was the last part of my comment that was cut off. Hopefully, elected officials and the public will now better understand the true and honest scope of the situation facing the timber industry so that we can better move forward with solutions. I've said all along that solutions not based on economic reality really don't get us anywhere and certainly don't help workers or communities get on the right track for a clean, green and sustainable future.
toadzilla
I don't know, maybe it's a little close to the news to be hearing the industry wrongs. I think a little tact is in order. There are a lot of scared and frightened people...sometimes a little encouragement goes a long way! In my opinion comments like yours, this close to the situation are just salt in the wounds. Just my opinion.
frustrated59901
I see the green idiots have to get their "eco two cents worth" in right away! Why don't all of you green pond scum move to Siberia because you sure as heck aren't wanted or needed here! Get a life and get a real job!!!