Weyerhaeuser announced December 11 that it will indefinitely curtail production on its East Kentucky iLevel Trus Joist TJI joists line in
The company expects the curtailment to last for all of 2007, affecting about 40 hourly and salaried positions at the site. Affected associates will receive full pay for 60 days, as well as a lump sum based on years of service.
"Demand for engineered wood products has fallen to severe levels, and the company will not need the production from the East Kentucky TJI joists line capacity during 2007," said Lynn Davison, plant manager at the facility. "Against the backdrop of industry-wide market challenges for wood products, we determined that we have to indefinitely curtail production on this line."
"We want to be clear that the downtime is not related to the performance of associates. We recognize the hard work and dedication by the team this year," Davison said. "Weyerhaeuser's employees work diligently to make our mills competitive and today's announcement is a reflection of the challenging business environment we face. We recognize the impact of this curtailment on the people in the Hazard community, and we will do our best to work with state and local leaders to assist in the transition."
The East Kentucky TJI joists line was acquired when Weyerhaeuser purchased the Trus Joist business in 1999. Its estimated annual production is 60 million lineal feet.
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