Buchanan Forest Products, once one of Thunder Bay's and northwestern Ontario's largest private employer, has gone into receivership.
More than 1,000 forestry workers have been laid off from Buchanan's eight shuttered sawmills across northwestern Ontario for as long as three years. This latest announcement delivers pink slips to more than 40 salaried employees.
A handful of staff will remain on the job for care and maintenance. Last week, Buchanan's Terrace Bay Pulp mill applied for creditor protection. Deloitte and Touche has been asked by the main creditor, TD Bank, to become receiver.
Buchanan is so short of cash it does not have the money to pay severance. The news comes right on the heels of Marathon Pulp's bankruptcy announcement that put 240 workers out of jobs in the community of 4,400 on the north shore of Lake Superior.
The joint-venture company, owned by Tembec and Kruger, owes $50.4 million to creditors and filed for bankruptcy protection, Feb. 13. But the company announced March 17, it won't be seeking a 30-day extension on its protection.
The bankruptcy is being handled by PricewaterhouseCoopers which will look for a new buyer for the mill.
