Port Hawkesbury Has Week Long Shutdown, Half of Employees Laid Off
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According to a report this past week by The Province (Vancouver, B.C., Canada), the development manager for Nova Scotia's Port Hawkesbury Paper Mill said more than half of the mill's 330 employees will be affected by layoffs starting this week.
Marc Dube of Port Hawkesbury Paper told the newspaper that poor market conditions for P&W grade paper have also led to a week-long shutdown and temporary layoffs.
He said that some of the unionized and non-unionized employees will take vacation during the shutdown.
Dube said that he's not sure if more layoffs are in store, but company officials remain confident heading into the busier fall months—and workers could be called back if the company gets an order.
The first VP of the union representing about 250 of the workers said the shutdown is disappointing, but not surprising, given the downturn of the industry as a whole.
Archie MacLachlan of Unifor added that company officials have told him late summer and fall sales are improving.
