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2-week shutdown ordered for Maplesville lumber plant
Published Tuesday, April 7, 2009
Production at Maplesville West Fraser facility has been halted two weeks, leaving each of the company’s approximately 114 hourly employees out of work and without pay.
The company announced Monday a two-week shutdown of the Maplesville facility, along with two others.
“These (shutdowns) were necessary because of market slow downs, lower lumber prices, lower demand,” West Fraser Human Resource Director Kim Foster said.
He added the company’s plants in Leola, Ark. and Whitehouse, Fla. were also shut down for two weeks.
The Maplesville facility is the town’s single largest employer.
“I plant to contact the company this week and find out what is going on and what can be done moving forward,” Maplesville mayor Kurt Wallace said.
Chilton County Industrial Development Director Joy Littleton said she had not heard from the company about the shutdown but also plans to touch base with company officials.
“This is not something that we want to do, but is something that we need to do,” Foster said.
The shutdowns add to the ones announced by the company in early March, in which nearly 2,000 employees were impacted by one and two-week shutdowns at plants in some of the company’s Canadian facilities.
The Maplesville facility, which was purchased by West Fraser from International Paper, produces dimension-cut lumber, such as 2x4s to 2x10s and 2x12s.
“This is a short-period layoff,” Foster said. “These employees will not be paid but they will maintain their benefits.”
Foster said the company’s plans were to restart the facility at the end of this two-week shutdown.
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Comments
Posted by Ruckerdog (anonymous) on April 7, 2009 at 5:48 p.m. (Suggest removal)
The recession is hitting many workers. The company I work for will be having a 2 week shutdown starting in late June, but we will be able to draw from our unemployment benefits.
Posted by eagle1 (anonymous) on April 7, 2009 at 6:29 p.m. (Suggest removal)
"I plant to contact the company" ... unless Mr. Wallace actually stated this, better watch for the grammatical error's Tim. The web buzzards will get you. :)
Posted by bree (anonymous) on April 7, 2009 at 6:54 p.m. (Suggest removal)
Since this is a layoff all workers should be able to get unemployment benifits. My brother in law was recently laid off from construction and filed for unemployment and by the time he got his first check (almost 2 1/2 weeks after he filed), he was already back to work. Most companies pay a week behind or two weeks behind depending on how paid, so these employess will still be without pay for one-two weeks. It's gonna be rough for those who have to live pay check to pay check. All these families need lots of prayers.
Posted by kwsrgraves (anonymous) on April 7, 2009 at 7:12 p.m. (Suggest removal)
I agree with Bree to some extent. Those of us who work Industrial/Commercial construction/maintenance know full well how the system works. However, if they are being given a furlough, retaining, benefits, and a promise of return, they are NOT eligible for UCP in most cases. Not all cases. For many who work, what they think is, a long term job, this economy and layoffs seem devastating. For those that work project to project, it's no big deal. I wish these folks well.
Posted by gonefishen (anonymous) on April 7, 2009 at 9:22 p.m. (Suggest removal)
This is not good thing, I wish them the best. They will be able to draw their pennies, but only on the second week. I went through this in November 08 and thought we where going to do it again in Feb 09. We got lucky and worked through the issues instead of taking the downtime.
Posted by nannyof4 (anonymous) on April 7, 2009 at 10:57 p.m. (Suggest removal)
This is devastating for Maplesvile. That town is so small any temporary shutdown is crippling for the economy. Since I know Mr. Wallace personally, I know he didn't speak that word. We all need to get down on our knees and pray for this country. Without God our country is doomed to fail. Just my opinion
Posted by my2cents (anonymous) on April 8, 2009 at 8:36 a.m. (Suggest removal)
One thing I have learned from this economy and which I hope others will draw a lesson from is to try to live a simpler life and not have every penny I expect to earn already alotted to some expense and maybe even save a small portion of income for the unexpected. Part of the reason for all the foreclosures is people over spent their anticipated income. It has just really made me rethink about how I spend my income and that it can easily be taken away from me. My heart goes out to everyone who has become unemployed. May we learn something from this should we ever get out of this situation.
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