A hardwood plywood production facility near Roseburg closed abruptly on Sept. 25, laying off 107 workers.
The workers will be paid through Nov. 24, Roseburg Forest Products wrote in a notice sent to state and county officials. Almost all of the workers are represented by the United Brotherhood of Carpenters Local 2949.
One hundred workers were off work as of Sept. 25. The other seven are administrative workers who will remain on the job through Oct. 10.
The employees worked in the hardwood plywood facility at 10550 Old Highway 99 S. in Dillard, Oregon, which Roseburg is closing. Todd Gorham, lead industrial representative in Oregon and Washington for the Western States Regional Council of Carpenters, said Roseburg had done short-term furloughs in recent months, but members weren’t aware a closure was coming until they were notified Sept. 24.
Bargaining over layoff effects would be scheduled, Gorham said.
Roseburg Forest Products said represented employees were encouraged to apply for jobs at the company’s other facilities. The company, which was founded in Roseburg nearly 90 years ago, has operations in Dillard, Medford, Coquille, Riddle, Coos Bay, and outside of Oregon in California, South Carolina, North Carolina, Arkansas, and Ontario, Canada.
Roseburg said in a press release that it was leaving the hardwood plywood market but would continue other existing operations at its Dillard complex, including medium-density fiberboard (MDF) and lumber production. A spokesperson for the company declined to answer questions about the layoffs.
Roseburg laid off 120 workers in Dillard in 2019. The company shut down its particleboard plant in Dillard in 2021, which had employed 179 workers, but said it offered all of those workers other positions with the company. The company closed the Dillard plywood facility in 2023 and reopened it a year later, according to Carpenters Local 2949 President Sid Walter. Roseburg opened the MDF facility on the former particleboard site in 2024 and refused to recognize the union, Walter said. He said Roseburg used to be a good employer but has changed since around 2012. The company froze pensions in 2016.
“Roseburg Forest Products again made the decision to balance their business on the backs of their long-term employees by shutting down Dillard Plywood with no notice,” Walter said. “Over half of the employees there have between 20 and 40 years of employment and are now put in the position by (Roseburg Forest Products) of having to reapply as a new hire at a different facility,” he added, noting that the company could have offered the workers transfer opportunities.
