>La Grande Observer | Union and Wallowa Counties' News Leader

Boise Cascade said Thursday it will curtail a shift at its La Grande sawmill, and lay off 30 workers at the particleboard plant near Island City.

A “distressed” pine lumber market is the reason for the cutbacks, according to company spokesman Steve Lyon.

“The impact of these curtailments on our employees, their families and the local community is unfortunate,” Lyons said. “We had hoped to get past this downturn without significant curtailments, but the distressed state of the pine lumber business dictates otherwise.”

The company will modify production schedules in the particleboard plant to better match staffing levels with current operating rates, according to a press release. Boise said the layoffs at the particleboard plant will take effect Aug. 11.

The lumber yard shift curtailment, which will impact 65 workers, is scheduled to begin Sept. 1, the press release said.

Tom Insko, Boise’s Inland Region manager, said the company does not know when employees might be called back to work.

“The current market situation and prolonged downturn in product pricing have necessitated the curtailment,” Insko said. “This market downturn has exceeded our original expectations for how long it would last.”

Insko said the housing crisis is the primary cause for the softness in wood product prices but also noted that escalating costs have hampered the company’s ability to continue operating at full capacity.

Boise Cascade has no plans for curtailments at its other manufacturing facilities in the Inland Region at this time, Lyon said.

“We aim to continue operating at current levels at our plywood plants in Elgin, and Kettle Falls, Washington, as well as our stud mill in Elgin and our pine lumber mills in Kettle Falls,” he said.

Boise long has been Union County’s largest private sector employer. About 700 people work at the La Grande sawmill, the particleboard plant, and the plywood plant and stud mill in Elgin.

In March, Boise announced   temporary curtailments at the Elgin stud mill and  La Grande sawmill. About 70 employees were affected in Elgin, and 60 in La Grande.