Gorman Brothers sawmill in West Kelowna, B.C., announced 11 layoffs in a media release on Monday, stating the reduction to staff is due to timber supply and market challenges.
Nick Arkle is the CEO of the Gormon Goup says they are monitoring the situation for potential further actions.
“While regrettable, it is inevitable that we must adjust our shifting to the available timber supply that has been shrinking due to the post mountain pine beetle adjustments and many other demands on the land base,” said Arkle.
CEO and president of The BC Council of Forest Industries, Linda Coady, says this is something that continues to be seen across the province.
Coady also told Global News that these kinds of decisions are always difficult because they impact people and communities.
“As a general rule of thumb, what are the trends that are driving mill closures in B.C.? There usually the result of a combination of timber supply crunch with increasing costs and changing economics in the provinces forest sector,” said Coady.
Coady says there are things that can be done to manage this sector, so it’s more sustainable.
“More Climate smart forestry, partnerships with Indigenous communities, Indigenous reconciliation to manage some of these changes. In a way that will enable B.C. to really continue to be a leader in sustainable forest management.”
These are not the first layoffs have occurred this year. In August West Fraser Timber cut 147 jobs at three different mills and In September Canfor announced it would be reducing production capacity in BC through till the end of 2022.
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