Fortress Paper Ltd., Vancouver, B.C., Canada, has approved an employee reduction plan that will result in a reduction of approximately 16% of the salaried staff in the company's dissolving pulp segment, including senior management, middle management, and clerical staff. The impact in cost savings is estimated at approximately $2.2 million per annum. These layoffs resulted from a management directive to immediately reduce labor costs as part of a comprehensive cost reduction initiative undertaken in response to the challenging dissolving pulp market.
"Fortress Paper is facing extremely difficult market conditions for dissolving pulp and we firmly believe in the need to be proactive to control our future," said Chadwick Wasilenkoff, CEO. "The reduction in labor costs announced today is anticipated to save the company more than $2 million per year and is representative of management's efforts to improve the efficiency of the company. While layoffs are unfortunate, they are a necessary and prudent measure in these difficult times."
Fortress Paper operates internationally in two distinct business segments—dissolving pulp and security paper products. The company operates its dissolving pulp business at the Fortress Specialty Cellulose Mill in Canada, which has expanded into the renewable energy generation sector with the construction of a cogeneration facility and the production of northern bleached hardwood kraft (NBHK) pulp. The company is also evaluating expanding its dissolving pulp capacity by converting the Fortress Global Cellulose Mill at Lebel-sur-Quévillon, Qué., Canada, into a dissolving pulp mill and re-starting the cogeneration facility. The company operates its security paper products business at the Landqart Mill in Switzerland, where it produces banknote, passport, visa, and other brand protection and security papers, and at its high security production and research facility in Canada, where it manufactures optically variable thin film material.
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