PORT ANGELES — K Ply will halt production the week of Oct. 30-Nov. 3 and temporarily lay off 59 employees, about one-third of its workforce, eliminating the graveyard shift.
When production resumes the week beginning Nov. 6, the company will operate with 126 employees, down from 185.
No one knows how long the layoffs will last.
“The slumping housing market, foreign competition and falling plywood prices contributed to this decision,” said K Ply president Shane Hancock in a statement released Thursday afternoon.
“Based on the market, all of 2007 looks pretty tough in the plywood and lumber industries.
“All the economic indicators, all the housing indicators and housing starts look to be pretty bleak,” Hanson said in a later interview.
The “composite panel price” that combines the prices for several types of wood products was $504 per 1,000 board feet a year ago and now is at $255, he said.
“That speaks for itself,” Hancock said.
The company plans a meeting with the dismissed workers at the Moose Lodge on Nov. 1, he said.
