BRITISH COLUMBIA (News release) -- West Fraser says it will permanently curtail approximately 300 million board feet of combined lumber production at its Fraser Lake and Quesnel sawmills in British Columbia, Canada. The curtailment will be realized through the elimination of the third shift at each sawmill.
The reduction in lumber production is expected to impact approximately 60 employees at Fraser Lake and 75 employees at Quesnel Sawmill over the 1Q and 2Q 2019. The Company expects to mitigate the impact on affected employees by offering them work opportunities at other West Fraser operations.
British Columbia faces a well-documented timber supply shortage owing to the devastating Mountain Pine Beetle infestation. In anticipation of this decline, West Fraser has invested in excess of $500 million in its B.C. assets to improve the safety and competitiveness of its mills to attain maximum value from the available timber resource. Today's decision better aligns West Fraser's production with current timber supply.
