Trisha Shanks
Arrow Lakes News
Over the next few months, five of the eight salaried Interfor employees in Nakusp are being relocated to Castlegar. Larry Price, General Manager of Woodlands, spoke to the affected Nakusp employees in early March.
“Many of the employees received a promotion with a broader scope,” said the Interfor Regional General Manager for the Interior, Andrew Horahan.
The decision was made to blend Woodlands employees in Grand Forks, Castlegar, and Nakusp by centralizing them into a single Kootenay division. Woodlands has committed to a $50 million expansion of the Castlegar manufacturing facilities.
“It was imperative that we move the positions to capitalize so that we can have that constant focus in the region which will continue,” Horahan explained.
Three positions are staying in Nakusp. Horahan made sure to point out that Interfor will always have a presence in Nakusp and that harvesting in Woodlands is being centralized.
“Logging operations are not affected. The Nakusp area has always been very important and continues to be. (The move) does not negatively affect how we look at our harvesting, post harvesting, and development in the area,” Horahan continued.
It’s not surprising that there are mixed emotions about the loss of five good jobs to this community. Horahan has committed to meet with mayor and council at their convenience to discuss the impact on the village.
Mayor Karen Hamling said, “We really hope that speaking with Interfor will allow us to salvage a couple of those jobs.
We will be speaking with Interfor and expressing to them just how important these people are to our economy and our community.”
Interfor took over the Nakusp office from Pope & Talbot Inc. on May 1, 2008 who had run the company from April 1992. Prior to that it was owned
by Westar.