This story was updated at 9:55 a.m. Friday, Feb. 16, with a comment from Philomath's mayor.
Interfor Corp. announced late Thursday that it will pause production at its Philomath sawmill operation for an undetermined amount of time until it can “evaluate the next steps for the business.”
The company said through a press release that the shutdown is “in response to persistent high log costs in the region and ongoing weak lumber market conditions.”
Svetlana Kayumova, senior manager of corporate affairs and communications, said Friday morning that Interfor “will be laying off approximately 100 total employees … as part of the indefinite curtailment of the operation.”
More than half of the operation’s employees were laid off Thursday.
“The effective date of separation for impacted employees will be staggered with 57 employees separated on Feb. 15,” Kayumova said. “We are committed to identifying opportunities for the affected employees at other operations.”
The sawmill stopped production immediately, Kayumova said, with a wind-down to occur in the shipping, kiln and planer components of the operation by the end of the first quarter, which would be March 31.
The Philomath sawmill produces a mix of kiln-dried and green hemlock and Douglas fir dimensional lumber and timbers with an annual capacity of 220 million board feet, the company said.
“I’m just really very deeply saddened by the whole situation and the fact that they’re having to close the sawmill,” Philomath Mayor Chas Jones said. “They said they’re curtailing operations for at least 90 days but that doesn’t really sound very hopeful.”
Interfor acquired the sawmill formerly owned by Georgia-Pacific in 2021. The company owns a little more than 80 acres with facilities on Industrial Way and near the intersection of Highway 20 and Highway 34.
“This was a difficult decision to make, but is necessary in light of the evolving operating and market environment,” said Bruce Luxmoore, executive vice president of the company’s U.S. operations. “We recognize the impact this decision will have on our employees, who have contributed so much to the business over the years.”
The company added in its press release that it will continue to operate its three U.S. Northwest stud mills — one at Molalla and the other two in Washington at Longview and Port Angeles.
In addition to its news about the Philomath sawmill, Interfor also announced plans to temporarily reduce lumber production at its British Columbia operations by approximately 30 million board feet in the first quarter of 2024 “due to a combination of weak market conditions, low log inventory levels and unseasonably warm weather that continues to negatively impact log deliveries across many areas of British Columbia.”