The Western Forest Products mill in Chemainus has shut down operations for two weeks, impacting 100 to 145 employees.
In a statement to Black Press Media, Western Forest Products senior director of communications, Babita Khunkhun, said that the shutdown is based on “a number of factors” impacting production.
“The temporary downtime is necessary due to a combination of market conditions and the availability of economically viable logs for that mill,” she said in an e-mailed statement. “We recognize the impact of downtime on our team members and are working on transfers to other Western locations where possible.”
Chris Cinkant, business agent with United Steelworkers Local 1-1937, said workers learned of the looming shutdown on Wednesday, March 13. The reason given was low cedar log inventory, he said.
“There’s always been concerns, at least at the mill level. How much is coming down in the bush … I’m not sure, [but] there’s always that worry with log inventory,” Cinkant said.
He said the shutdown is disappointing, and felt there could have been more notice given, as families could have made spring break plans and workers living paycheque-to-paycheque could have looked into options for secondary income.
“The members are concerned when this kind of thing happens on short notice. It just creates uncertainty,” he said.
Last month, Western Forest Products reported a net loss of $14.3 million in the fourth quarter of 2023, following a net loss of $17.4 million in the third quarter.
“Results in the fourth quarter of 2023 reflect lower realized pricing and shipment volumes on a stronger lumber sales mix, offset by lower stumpage rates as compared to the same period last year,” the company noted in a press release.
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