Mercer Celgar Workers in Castlegar Return to Work

According to Rose Leslie, a spokesperson for Mercer Celgar, at least 215 of the workers laid off during the temporary shutdown of the Castlegar mill in the beginning of July, have returned to work as of July 31st. The company announced in May that it would be closing the mill temporarily due to reduced fiber availability from sawmills impacted by COVID-19, costs related to sawlog stumpage charges on pulpwood and an oversupply of already-harvested pulp wood brought on by provincial stumpage rules. The company lost approximately 52,000 tons of pulp production during the temporary shutdown. Leslie could not confirm whether or not the mill might potentially shut down again in the foreseeable future. Mercer Celgar employs approximately 430 people at its Castlegar location.