LP workers off two weeks, no pay

By Elna Seabrooks
Staff Writer
    NEW LIMERICK — About 100 local Louisiana-Pacific Corporation (LP) employees went on two-weeks unpaid leave as of Sunday due to “extremely challenging market conditions,” according to  company spokesperson Mary Cohn. Speaking from the corporate headquarters in Nashville, Tenn., Cohn stressed to the Pioneer Times that it is not a layoff, but “unpaid downtime.”
    The New Limerick location which produces laminated strand lumber, an engineered wood product for home building, is taking the downtime, says Cohn, because LP is responding to reduced demand resulting from the housing collapse and “preparing for the time when the market returns.” Cohn said the company is doing its best to manage through this unprecedented downturn and hopes it won’t have to cut jobs at the mill. The New Limerick mill, often referred to as the Houlton location, re-opened in 2008 after a $140 million outlay in construction and expansion costs by the company. Referring to company-wide losses over the last several quarters, Cohn said: “We want to be there for those employees and for our customers when this all gets resolved.”
LP rises after cutbacks
    Last week LP’s sagging stock was upgraded and rose after it announced steps to reduce costs and manage its use of working capital. The company will slash 200 jobs from the payroll —14 percent of the workforce — and freeze salaries along with other moves to save $30 to $35 million a year. Over the past several quarters, the building materials manufacturer had suspended dividends, curtailed operations at four other mills and taken significant downtime at a number of production facilities to manage working capital and preserve cash.
    In a prepared statement to the press, CEO Rick Frost said: “We have also reduced planned capital spending to $25 million per year for the next several years. This compares to expected 2008 capital spending of $170 million.”
Aroostook County linked to housing woes
    As the country continues to slide deeper into a slowdown — some call it a recession — the national jobless picture is so bad that President George W. Bush signed additional legislation last Friday to extend unemployment benefits for millions of workers. Although Aroostook County has seen its share of job losses, much is linked to the national housing troubles that have wreaked havoc in the financial sector.
    According to Adam Fisher, spokesperson for the Maine Department of Labor, more people are looking for jobs in the county because the labor force has actually grown. He says more than 33,000 people are working in non-farm jobs, not including the numbers of self-employed people. Aroostook County had a non-seasonally adjusted unemployment rate of 6.3 percent for September compared to 5.7 percent last year at that time. Nationally the unemployment rate has jumped to 6.5 percent. But, Fisher says, with the right skills and training, there are job opportunities out there for people, particularly in health care, information technology (IT), and the hospitality and leisure industry.