VANCOUVER (News release) -- West Fraser Timber is permanently curtailing approximately 170 million board feet of combined production at its Fraser Lake and Williams Lake sawmills and approximately 85 million square feet of plywood production at its Quesnel Plywood mill in Canada. The curtailments will be realized through the elimination of one shift at each facility.

The reduction in capacity is expected to impact 77 positions at Fraser Lake Sawmill, 15 positions at Williams Lake Lumber, and 55 positions at Quesnel Plywood and will occur over the course of the 4Q 2022. The Company expects to mitigate the impact on effected employees by providing work opportunities at other West Fraser operations.

Access to available timber is an increasing challenge in British Columbia and ongoing transportation constraints have impaired the Company's ability to reliably access markets. These capacity reductions are necessary to better align West Fraser's operating capacity with available timber and transport availability.