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TRIPLE FATALITY ON 97C
SADDLING UP FOR KIDS
A collision Friday evening on Hamilton Hill resulted in three deaths. Police are still investigating the cause. / Page 2
Local chapter of Back Country Horsemen BC hold annual toy ride / Page 9
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MERRITT HERALD INDUSTRY LAYOFFS IN LUMBER, MINING FREE
TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 10, 2015 • MERRITT NEWSPAPERS
Tolko lets 29 people go, citing expected drop in AAC Michael Potestio THE MERRITT HERALD
Tolko has eliminated 29 full-time operational positions at its Merritt mill site in response to expected reductions to the allowable annual cut (AAC) next month. The AAC is the maximum volume of timber allowed to be harvested in an area in one year. The Merritt timber supply area was set at 2,400,000 cubic metres in 2010 — a decrease from the previously allowed 2,800,000 cubic metres. Steve Thomson, the Minister of Forests, Lands and Natural Resource Operations has said the Merritt timber supply area is likely to see another decrease in allowable annual cut. In fact, timber supply areas across the Interior are likely to see decreases due to the pine beetle. Tolko's job cuts went into effect last Friday. Clayton Storey, plant manager at Tolko's Merritt mill told the Herald the mill's small log line production is being scaled back. "We're reducing the
operating footprint so we need to match all of our departments to the new sawmill output," Storey said. The annual volume of lumber produced at the Nicola Valley mill will be reduced by 26 million board feet, or 12 per cent capacity. “With significant reductions in the allowable annual cut coming in the near future, we have had to evaluate and focus our operations to ensure we remain competitive and viable,” said Troy Connolly, general manager B.C. lumber for the company, in a news release. United Steelworkers Local 1-417 vice president Shawn Harris told the Herald that "there was some writing on the wall" that reductions were coming given current poor lumber market conditions and the impending drop in the AAC. "Of course we would prefer that [these employees] hang around, but I think the company is doing what they need to remain viable given all the circumstances," Harris said.
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A recent photograph of the Tolko mill in Merritt, which will reduce the annual volume of lumber produced by 12 per cent capacity. Submitted by Tolko
Highland Valley Copper cuts nine positions; more expected in the new year Michael Potestio THE MERRITT HERALD
Slumping copper prices has led Teck’s Highland Valley Copper mine to announce it will cut its workforce by six per cent by the end of 2016. Peter Martell, superintendent of environment and community affairs at the mine told the Herald that nine management staff were laid off last week, and more job cuts will be coming in the new year. “We’ve had challenging market conditions that are continuing, so they are taking steps to reduce costs at Highland Valley Copper and maintain our competitiveness,” Martell said. President of the United Steelworkers Local 7619, Kyle Wolff, said the challenge is that production costs have gone up as
copper prices have gone down. “We have an increased copper production price through wage increases and fuel costs, and everything else that happens over the years,” he said. “We have a higher employee base than we’ve had before.” The mine, located near Logan Lake, employs approximately 1,400 people, meaning some 80 jobs are being eliminated from that six per cent, something Teck hopes to do primarily through attrition — eliminating a position when the person in it retires. “There’s always a significant number of people each year that retire,” Martell said. Unionized employees have not been affected yet. Wolff said the language in their contract stipulates that non-union contractors are to be targeted for layoffs before union-
ized workers. Wolff also noted that Teck’s job cuts at the mine are not all coming at once. “It’s a long-term plan to reduce costs overall,” he said. Martell said copper prices have been decreasing gradually, and there’s no rebound in sight at this point. The price of copper is about $1 less per pound than it was at this point last year. In its third quarter unaudited results for 2015 Teck reports its gross profit before depreciation and amortization was $670 million in the third quarter compared with $752 million in the third quarter of 2014. Cash flow from operations, before working capital changes, was $302 million in the third quarter of 2015 compared with $553 million a year ago.
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