Layoffs at Peninsula Plywood

Thirty-five Peninsula Plywood employees were laid off yesterday; that's almost a quarter of the company's work force.

PenPly President Josh Renshaw said:

"The weak market, combined with a seasonal downturn, would have created some layoffs anyway. But we've made some recent changes in process that have improved our productivity. That made the layoff larger than it would have been if it was just market based."

Peninsula Plywood to Start Hiring

Peninsula Plywood’s lease with the Port of Port Angeles is now official. The company will begin hiring during the next few weeks, according to company president Josh Renshaw.

The lease requires PenPly to hire sixty people during the next ninety days.

Port Executive Director Jeff Robb said: “This is a bright day for Peninsula Plywood, for the Port of Port Angeles and for our community.”

Former KPly Mill Should Be Reopening Soon

Peninsula Plywood Group LLC has signed a lease with the Port of Port Angeles for the former KPly mill. The lease requires the company to hire forty-five employees within ninety days of the signing of the lease, which was last Friday.

Josh Renshaw — who has worked for over a year to take over the mill after it was closed — said that no employment applications have been taken yet and that more details will be released in the next few weeks. He said: “We're pleased that the purchase agreement and the lease were concluded today. These represent major milestones in creating a significant number of jobs for the community.”

The plan is to reopen the mill under its original name, Peninsula Plywood. They hope to have 172 employees and produce 5 million board-feet of plywood per month.