Town of St. Stephen working with industry to find jobs for laid-off Arauco workers

A day after dozens of job losses were announced in St. Stephen, the town is coming together to find solutions for laid-off workers. 

Allan MacEachern, the mayor of St. Stephen, said the town will be working with Arauco as well as industry partners in the area to help find jobs for workers being laid off at the company's particleboard mill. 

"We're in the planning stages," MacEachern said. "We don't even know who the employees are at this point, publicly. But we do want to arrange a meeting with them right on-site or off-site to help work with them." 

He said there are businesses out there looking for employees, and he's been approached by some local industries as well as J.D. Irving Ltd.

A JDI spokesperson said the company has about 100 openings in a variety of jobs in the area from Saint John to St. Stephen.

Mary Keith, vice-president communications, said JDI has been in touch with the mayor of St. Stephen and is looking to connect about a job fair. 

"My understanding is there will be a job fair, and we look forward to participating," she said.

Mill wasn't competitive

St. Stephen will lose 60 to 75 jobs by the end of the year because Arauco  is shutting down its particleboard operation.

The announcement was made Wednesday by plant manager David Moffatt, who said the operation hasn't been competitive. 

The plant is older compared with other sites in North America, and costs related to wood and natural gas have made it more challenging to compete, the company said.

But the Fibrex side of the St. Stephen plant, which produces medium-density fibreboard, will remain in operation with about 120 jobs.  

The mayor said the news is still fresh, and everyone is still getting over the shock, but the town hopes to present some options for employees soon. 

He'll be working with local partners such as the business group Future St. Stephen and the chamber of commerce. 

Terry Dempsey, president of the St. Stephen Area Chamber of Commerce, said special meetings will be planned with the chamber to decide how it can help. 

We're the little town that could.- Kendall Kadatz, Future St. Stephen

St. Stephen and employees will also be getting help from the province. 

In an emailed statement, the Department of Post-Secondary Education, Training and Labour said its role in situations like these is to work closely with affected workers in finding them career-transitioning support.

The statement said the department has reached out to Arauco directly and will be co-ordinating with the company to offer support to employees. 

Group optimistic

Arauco is a significant employer, but Kendall Kadatz, president of Future St. Stephen, which works to reverse population decline and increase economic development, feels the community will be able to bounce back.

"This isn't hitting us as hard as it might have, say, 20 or 30 years ago, when it was one of the more primary industries in the area," Kadatz said in an interview with Information Morning Saint John.

"It is a challenge but it's not that significant a challenge." 

Kadatz said more than 100 businesses have opened or expanded in the area over the last five years, including a Giant Tiger, restaurants, bakeries and wellness services. Two new cannabis operations will open in the next two years.

He said many residents believe in buying and shopping locally. 

"We're the little town that could."