Restructuring by Knife River Corp. officials has resulted in the loss of between 12 and 15 jobs in Western Montana.

The employees affected by the consolidation of some parts of the company all worked in either the administration or estimating divisions throughout the region, according to Pam Link, Knife River spokeswoman.

None of Knife River’s offices in Western Montana was closed as a result of the consolidation, Link said.

The changes are in response to the “continued downturn of Western Montana’s construction economy,” Link said in a press release.

The Kalispell, Missoula and Polson operations were merged into a single Western Montana division now under the direction of Alrick Hale, who had been the general manager in Kalispell.  Most administrative, accounting and estimating functions for the Western Montana division now will be handled out of Missoula.

Dave Zinke, who had been the general manager of the Missoula division, is the new president of operations for all of Knife River’s Montana and Wyoming operations.

In Kalispell, Knife River will continue to operate its construction, asphalt, aggregate and ready-mix business units. Ready-mix and aggregate operations will continue in Polson.

In a press release, Zinke pointed out that unemployment in the construction industry is higher now than it has been in 90 years. “The private construction market has all but disappeared and there is an uncertainty of long-term highway funding, which impacts state and county construction funding,” Zinke said. “It’s been a tough world for us, but we are working to remain strong and become more efficient.”

Zinke said the change is a more effective use of Knife River’s use of people, resources and equipment.

Knife River, an MDU Resources company, remains “committed to our Montana markets, our employees and our customers,” Zinke said. The company also has offices in Billings, Belgrade and Casper and Cheyenne, Wyo.