80 layoffs announced at Randle, Wash., sawmill

PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — A Portland, Ore.-based forest products company says it has laid off 80 people at its sawmill in Randle, Wash., east of Chehalis.

Hampton Affiliates Chief Executive Steve Zika said Monday in a statement that his company can’t obtain enough logs to maintain normal operations.

He says many logs from private forest lands are being exported and the Gifford Pinchot National Forest is, in his words, “effectively locked up.”

Zika adds that Chinese log exports and a continued depression in the U.S. housing market have made operating a Northwest sawmill “a difficult proposition.”

The Oregonian reports (http://bit.ly/p6JJ1J) that Hampton says it will reduce operations at its Randle stud mill this fall from 80 hours a week to 50 hours a week. Zika said all of the company’s sawmills will continue operating, though some will be on reduced schedules.

The company says it has 1,600 employees, most in the Pacific Northwest.

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Information from: The Oregonian, http://www.oregonlive.com