Laid off from West Fraser.

What West Fraser layoffs have meant for employees

Adding the counts given for each site, about 1,360 jobs were affected at ten mills between January 2023 and October 2026. That sum is ours, and it counts jobs when each cut was announced, so it may include people who later moved to other West Fraser operations. Seven of the ten were lumber mills that closed for good, and the other three carry the curtailment label. If you're at Leola or Lanett, the useful part of that record is what came after the word indefinite.

At Perry, Huttig and Lake Butler, what came after it was closure. Perry's curtailment was converted to a permanent closure in under a year, according to West Fraser's 2025 annual information form. Lake Butler's took about 14 months and Huttig's about 22, going by the November 2025 release, which said both mills would be dismantled and the sites sold. Norbord's British Columbia OSB mill took about 15 by the dates CFJC Today reported. Huguley did come back, more than eight years after it stopped, according to Norbord's 2017 MD&A. Norbord's mills count here because West Fraser's annual form lists Norbord Inc. as a wholly owned subsidiary.

Neither the October 28 release nor the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette's report gives a restart date for Huguley or Leola, and West Fraser's chief executive said the company had "no near-term visibility on an improvement in demand." If you're at either mill and get a notice, you could plan around its dates and treat any return as a surprise.

West Fraser's announced schedules and the dates in state records didn't match in two recent US cases. The company expected the Huguley curtailment in the fourth quarter of 2026, while Alabama's WARN list shows a planned start of January 2, 2027. Augusta's closing was announced for the end of 2025, and its row in our WARN tracker is dated January 5, 2026. Maxville's Florida notice held two dates of its own, a January 19, 2024 effective closure and a March 19 termination date. If you get a notice, its dates are the ones to work from, since a company release speaks for a whole mill.

West Fraser's stated remedy has been work elsewhere in the company. The Fraser Lake release said it expected to provide work at other operations, and the High Level release offered the same "where available." For Leola, the company said it was exploring opportunities for people to relocate to open positions. Those are expectations, and none of these releases or reports says how many people moved. Company representatives also said the closures would let it ramp up production at its replacement mill in Henderson, Texas, which speaks to output, not hiring. If West Fraser offers you work at another mill, the distance, the shift and the pay rate are yours to weigh against any pay you'd otherwise get when the job ends. If no offer comes, you could check whether Henderson or another mill has openings.

Your terms may also depend on whether a union represents you. The annual form counted about 29% of employees under collective agreements at the end of 2025, and West Fraser told Florida it had notified the United Steelworkers' chief elected official about Maxville, the Jax Daily Record reported. If you're covered, your local's agreement could hold its own closing language. Arkansas unemployment benefits and Alabama's set out what a claim takes in the two states behind the October curtailments.

A sourced history of West Fraser layoffs

• October 2026, Huguley and Leola curtailments announced

  West Fraser said in an October 28 release it would indefinitely curtail its Huguley OSB mill in Lanett, Alabama, and its Leola, Arkansas, lumber mill in the fourth quarter. Alabama's WARN list shows 123 employees at Lanett, and the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette reported about 100 at Leola.

• December 2025, High Level OSB mill curtailment

  About 190 employees at the High Level, Alberta, OSB mill faced an indefinite curtailment set for spring 2026, West Fraser's December 4 release said, citing weaker OSB demand. Its third-quarter 2026 results say the curtailment was completed in the second quarter.

• November 2025, Augusta and 100 Mile House closings

  West Fraser said in a November 6 release it would permanently close its Augusta, Georgia, mill, about 130 employees, and its 100 Mile House, British Columbia, mill, about 165, by the end of 2025. It also made the Huttig and Lake Butler curtailments permanent.

• September 2024, Lake Butler sawmill curtailment

  A Florida notice dated September 19 listed 131 jobs at Lake Butler in our WARN tracker. The indefinite curtailment there became permanent under West Fraser's November 2025 release.

• January 2024, Fraser Lake sawmill closing

  West Fraser's Fraser Lake, British Columbia, sawmill was to close permanently under a January 22 release, affecting about 175 employees, because it couldn't access economically viable fiber in the region.

• January 2024, Maxville closing and Huttig curtailment

  A January 9 notice to Florida said the Maxville sawmill would close, eliminating 79 jobs, the Jax Daily Record reported, and West Fraser said it would indefinitely curtail its 140-employee Huttig, Arkansas, sawmill by the end of that month.

• January 2023, Perry sawmill curtailment

  A Florida notice dated January 10 listed 127 jobs at Perry in our WARN tracker. The 2025 annual information form says that indefinite curtailment was later converted to a permanent closure.

• November 2020, Norbord closes 100 Mile House OSB mill

  Norbord said its OSB mill at 100 Mile House, British Columbia, suspended since August 2019, would close permanently, CFJC Today reported, ending an indefinite curtailment that had put 160 people out of work.

• June 2019, Chasm sawmill closing

  West Fraser announced the permanent closure of its Chasm, British Columbia, sawmill, a loss of 176 jobs, CFJC Today reported, and dropped a third shift at another mill, 34 more.

• January 2009, Norbord curtails Huguley OSB mill

  Norbord indefinitely curtailed its Huguley, Alabama, OSB mill, and Norbord's 2017 MD&A says operations resumed in October 2017. A Lanett notice dated January 22, 2009, listed 127 jobs in our WARN tracker.

What to do if you're laid off from West Fraser

• File for unemployment in the state where you worked. Benefits run from your filing date, and severance usually doesn't block you. West Fraser's biggest hubs: Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia. Somewhere else? Every state is here.
• Apply for financial and hardship assistance. Unemployment supplements income, but food benefits, health coverage and utility help are often available as well. Here's some of what West Fraser's hub states run: Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, and every other state is here.
• Mind the health insurance window. Losing coverage opens a 60-day special enrollment period, and an ACA plan usually beats unsubsidized COBRA. Compare your options before the employer coverage lapses, and read how the COBRA clocks run if you are weighing it seriously.
• Get your real runway number. Severance plus savings divided by reality. The calculator takes five minutes.
• Know which clocks are already running. Severance review windows, COBRA election, visa grace periods, and 401(k) rollovers all run on federal deadlines that started at termination. All five deadlines are here.