Weyerhaeuser Co. will permanently close its lumber and plywood mills in Columbia Falls by late August or early September, eliminating 100 jobs, the company announced late Wednesday afternoon.

In addition to the mill closures, Weyerhaeuser said it will close its administration office complex in Columbia Falls by the end of the year, eliminating roughly another 100 jobs in addition to the 100 lost mill jobs.

“It’s a tough day,” said Tom Ray, Weyerhaeuser’s Montana resources team leader. “It’s tough news, but it’s a decision that will make us stronger in the long-term and will position the remaining wood facilities for long-term success.”

Weyerhaeuser took over Plum Creek Timber Co. earlier this year. Plum Creek operations in Columbia Falls date back to 1946.

State Sen. Dee Brown, R-Hungry Horse, immediately weighed in on Wednesday’s devastating news. “This afternoon they have punched Columbia Falls in the gut

with the loss of a tax base and good paying jobs in announcing huge layoffs and plant closure,” Brown said.

The company’s medium-density fiberboard plant in Columbia Falls will continue to operate. Weyerhaeuser’s Evergreen lumber and plywood mills also will remain in operation.

Two shifts are being added to the Evergreen operations, Ray said. The plywood plant will bump up from two to three shifts and a second shift will be added to the Evergreen sawmill.

The additional shifts in Evergreen will provide about 130 jobs, absorbing some of the job loss from the Columbia Falls mills, which employed 230 people.

“Everyone affected will have equal opportunity to interview for those jobs,” Ray said. “If a person doesn’t have a job at the end of the transition period, about 60 days, they will receive a severance package.”

Weyerhaeuser also will have out-placement services available to affected workers, who will be able to apply for company openings in other states.

Ray said employee meetings were held at 3 p.m. Wednesday at all of Weyerhaeuser’s Flathead Valley facilities “so everyone could hear the message.”

Some management jobs based at the company’s administration office complex — “affectionately called the Cedar Palace,” Ray said — already had been eliminated. Some administration support staff positions will remain locally but will be moved to other office facilities, Ray said.

Weyerhaeuser, a Seattle-based timber giant, announced in November 2015 it was purchasing Plum Creek Timber Co. for $8.44 billion, forming the largest private owner of timberland in the United States, with more than 13 million acres, including Plum Creek’s 880,000 acres in Montana. The merger was finalized just four months ago.

Weyerhaeuser officials initially announced the Flathead Valley wouldn’t see any immediate changes from the merger, and that Plum Creek’s manufacturing facilities here “will remain in Montana and the jobs associated with manufacturing will remain.”

Brown said she was apprehensive when Weyerhaeuser purchased Plum Creek, even though the company’s announcement it would leave its lands open for public use was “a bit of good news.”

A chronic shortage of logs was the driving force behind the decision to permanently shutter the two Columbia Falls mills, Ray said.

Doyle R. Simons, president and chief executive officer of Weyerhaeuser, issued a statement late Wednesday, saying “for some time now our operations in Montana have been running below capacity as a result of an ongoing shortage of logs in the region. These closures will allow us to align the available log supply with our manufacturing capacity ... and best position these mills for long-term success.”

After the mill closures and office moves, Weyerhaeuser expects to employ about 550 people in Montana.

Columbia Falls Chamber of Commerce Executive Director Stacey Schnebel said the job loss will be “very painful” for a community that historically has offered some of the best-paying industry jobs in the Flathead Valley.

“With the obvious trends in the timber industry, this move is not surprising to us, but it doesn’t make it hurt any less,” Schnebel said. “I can’t put a positive spin on it ... it’s very disappointing.”

Gov. Steve Bullock issued a press statement late Wednesday, saying Weyerhaeuser’s announcement “is yet another extremely disappointing example of the federal government’s failure to do its job.”

Bullock said he has directed state Labor and Industry Commissioner Pam Bucy to immediately engage its rapid response team through the state’s Dislocated Worker Program. Rapid response is a required activity through the Workforce Innovation and Opportunities Act designed to assist workers who are facing loss of employment to obtain re-employment as soon as possible.

U.S. Sen. Steve Daines, R-Mont., also weighed in on the mill closures, calling it “devastating” news to the Columbia Falls community.

“This underscores the importance to urgently pass forest reform legislation to get Montana’s abundance of logs to our mills and keep good-paying jobs in our state,” Daines said in a press release. “I will not sit idly by and watch Montana jobs disappear and families suffer as a result of frivolous lawsuits by fringe environmentalists and excessive regulations.”

U.S. Sen. Jon Tester, D-Mont., called the layoffs “a major blow to folks in Columbia Falls and across the Flathead Valley” and pledged to push for more job opportunities and increased timber harvests in the Flathead.

In November 2015 as Weyerhaeuser announced the merger, Plum Creek had 1,200 employees companywide, with about 750 workers in the Flathead Valley, of which 623 worked in manufacturing.

Plum Creek’s legacy dates back to 1944 when D.C. Dunham founded Plum Creek Logging Co., named after Plum Creek near Bemidji, Minnesota. Dunham started in the business in the 1930s with an earlier company named D.C. Dunham Lumber Co.

In 1946 Dunham moved his Minnesota lumber business to Columbia Falls, opened the Columbia Falls sawmill and renamed the company Plum Creek Lumber.

In early 2015 Plum Creek said it planned to invest $10 million in plant improvements at its Northwest Montana manufacturing facilities.

“As a kid growing up in Columbia Falls, everyone knew D.C. Dunham and respected his work ethic and care for our community,” Brown said. “Corporate America doesn’t have that same care. It is a very sad day in our community and the Flathead Valley.”

Weyerhaeuser began operations in 1900 and owns more than 13 million acres of timberlands, primarily in the United States, and manages additional timberlands under long-term licenses in Canada.

Features editor Lynnette Hintze may be reached at 758-4421 or by email at lhintze@dailyinterlake.com.