Arauco Eugene, Oregon mill to close, lay off 84



Arauco Eugene, Oregon mill to close, lay off 84 | Arauco, closure, layoffs, employees,

EUGENE, Ore. (From news reports) -- A Chilean company notified Oregon state officials Tuesday that it will shutter a Eugene fiberboard mill and lay off all 84 workers on May 1.

Arauco North America said the closure results from an "economic imbalance" in the U.S. market for medium density fiberboard. The company said it will shift Eugene production work to its other U.S. facilities.

The Eugene facility opened in 1962, according to the Eugene Area Chamber of Commerce. The chamber says Arauco uses local lumber mill byproducts and converts them into fiberboard for home construction.