A longtime New Westminster employer is laying off almost a third of its workforce.
Kruger Products paper mill is shutting down its production of raw paper rolls for the industrial market and letting go of 187 employees.
"This business hasn't been, isn't today and likely won't be in the future, financially viable, so we've taken a position of saying this doesn't make sense to us," said Chuck Stewart, Kruger regional manager. "We will focus on our core business, which is producing and distributing premier quality consumer and away-fromhome tissue products and maintaining and growing our market leadership position in these products in Canada."
Four hundred employees will keep their job at the mill, after the layoffs occur on Aug. 31.
"We made the announcements starting yesterday," Stewart told The Record Thursday. "We closed the plant down, which is the first time we've done that in our history, out of respect for our employees."
He adds that Kruger will continue to be a viable operation along the Fraser River.
"The New Westminster mill, this is our 90th year in operation, and we remain a key operation in our company's (Kruger's) long-term strategy here locally, both organizationally and geographically, for the future," Stewart said. "We've invested over $100 million in this mill in recent years, and we expect that to continue moving forward. The future here is very bright. We are going to be able to better leverage our more efficient, better-cost operations and a better, more stable operation in the future. Unfortunately, it's got some horrible impact on people who are directly impacted. Those who remain though will see a positive future for themselves and the community as well."
The Record hadn't heard from Chris May, president of Local 456 of the Communications, Energy and Paperworkers' Union of Canada, at press time.
