File Photo (Image Credit: CFJC Today)

By James Peters

Mill Closures

Tolko closures to result in 240 job losses in Quesnel, Kelowna

May 10, 2019 | 5:18 PM

VERNON, B.C. — Tolko is making cuts that will affect hundreds of jobs in the B.C. Interior.

The Vernon-based company is permanently closing its Quest Wood sawmill in Quesnel on August 2, resulting in 150 job losses. An additional 90 people will lose their jobs in Kelowna as of July 12, as Tolko drops from two shifts to one.

In a news release, Tolko President and CEO Brad Thorlakson blames a fibre shortage for the decisions, calling them “difficult but necessary.” Thorlakson says the company does not have enough “economic fibre” available to keep the operations running efficiently and productively, particularly after annual allowable cut (AAC) reductions announced Friday.

Thorlakson notes AAC reductions were anticipated due to the devastation wrought by the Mountain Pine Beetle, but he says today’s cuts came sooner than expected “due to uneconomic log costs, weak lumber markets, and the catastrophic impacts of wildfires.”

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Quest Wood has been a part of Tolko since 1981, and the company acquired Riverside Forest Products in Kelowna in 2004.