FEDERAL WAY, Wash.–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Weyerhaeuser Company (NYSE:WY) today announced it will close its iLevel® lumber mills in Wright City, Okla., and Dallas, Ore., effective immediately. The announcement will affect approximately 307 employees. “Demand for wood products continues to decline due to a slowdown in the housing market,” said Tom Gideon, executive vice president, Forest Products. “Unfortunately, extraordinarily weak market conditions in the homebuilding industry require that we take decisive action.”
The company has closed 10 wood products manufacturing facilities this year and virtually all sites are experiencing reduced operations. Since the beginning of 2009, Weyerhaeuser has announced the closure of four softwood lumber facilities with an annual capacity of 870 million board feet. In addition, the company has eliminated operating shifts at its other lumber facilities, resulting in an annual capacity reduction of 280 million board feet. Since January, Weyerhaeuser has reduced its softwood lumber volume by over 1.1 billion board feet to balance its production with customer demand.
“These have been very difficult decisions impacting employees who have performed well,” Gideon said. “We fully understand the major impact of these closures on our employees, contractors and communities, and we will work constructively in the weeks and months ahead on the transition.”
Weyerhaeuser will supply customers with products from its other iLevel facilities. The company will support affected employees with transition benefits.
About Weyerhaeuser: Weyerhaeuser Company, one of the world’s largest forest products companies, was incorporated in 1900. In 2008, sales were $8 billion. It has offices or operations in 10 countries, with customers worldwide. Weyerhaeuser is principally engaged in the growing and harvesting of timber; the manufacture, distribution and sale of forest products; and real estate construction and development. Additional information about Weyerhaeuser’s businesses, products and practices is available at http://www.weyerhaeuser.com.
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