Tolko Announces Temporary Layoffs at Both of Its Williams Lake, BC, Locations

Last week, Tolko Industries informed some employees at both of its Williams Lake, BC, locations that they would be temporarily laid off, the Comox Valley Record reported (11-29-24).

1. The Lakeview sawmill will cease production after Friday, December 13 and resume operations on Monday, January 6th.
2. The Soda Creek sawmill will end production after Friday, December 20th and start up again on Monday, January 20th.

During this time, however, the planer mills at both sites will continue operating as required, and Tolko will continue to operate its shipping departments, as required, to meet customers’ needs.

In an email to the Comox Valley Record, Tolko communications advisor Chris Downey confirmed the temporary layoffs and said:

“This temporary downtime is due to high fiber costs, poor weather conditions during the fall harvesting season, and weak North American lumber and plywood markets.

These decisions are not made without a lot of consideration—we have an extremely committed workforce whose families and communities rely on Tolko for stable jobs, and we recognize the impact this has on many employees. The BC policy and regulatory burden causing high costs and limiting access to available economic fiber for our BC manufacturing facilities continues to impact our BC footprint.”