Kelowna’s Tolko lumber mill has shut down

KELOWNA – Instead of returning to work after a six-week shutdown next week, 127 Tolko lumber mill workers in Kelowna will be off the job indefinitely.

Tolko Industries announced today, Sept. 12, that the mill’s operations will be “curtailed” for an “indeterminate period.”

“This decision was not easy for us to make,” vice-president of Solid Wood Troy Connolly said in a news release. “We are very disappointed to be in a position where we have to curtail the mill, particularly given the reasons for this extension are beyond our control. However, with lumber market prices at sustained low levels and high log costs in B.C., the mill cannot be cost-competitive.”

Employees were informed of the decision earlier today.

In June, 90 workers were laid off when the mill cut out one shift.

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