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Or sign-in if you have an account.Interfor's Adams Lake sawmill, one of just three operations it has left in B.C. Photo by InterforBurnaby-headquartered Interfor Corp., one of B.C.’s long-standing lumber giants, has told its employees that it will be moving most of its executive and back-office work to an office in the United States.Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada.Exclusive articles from Barbara Shecter, Joe O'Connor, Gabriel Friedman, and others.Daily content from Financial Times, the world's leading global business publication.Unlimited online access to read articles from Financial Post, National Post and 15 news sites across Canada with one account.National Post ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition to view on any device, share and comment on.Daily puzzles, including the New York Times Crossword.Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada.Exclusive articles from Barbara Shecter, Joe O'Connor, Gabriel Friedman and others.Daily content from Financial Times, the world's leading global business publication.Unlimited online access to read articles from Financial Post, National Post and 15 news sites across Canada with one account.National Post ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition to view on any device, share and comment on.Daily puzzles, including the New York Times Crossword.Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience.Access articles from across Canada with one account.Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments.Enjoy additional articles per month.Get email updates from your favourite authors.Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience.Access articles from across Canada with one accountShare your thoughts and join the conversation in the commentsEnjoy additional articles per monthGet email updates from your favourite authorsSign In or Create an AccountorThe company didn’t indicate whether it would officially move its headquarters to the office in Georgia that Interfor established in 2014, but it comes after more than a decade of increasing its investments south of the border.The move is being made at the same time Canadian lumber producers remain weighed down by punitive duties under the Canada U.S. softwood lumber dispute and in a tough business environment for B.C. lumber producers.Breaking business news, incisive views, must-reads and market signals. Weekdays by 9 a.m.By signing up you consent to receive the above newsletter from Postmedia Network Inc.A welcome email is on its way. If you don't see it, please check your junk folder.The next issue of Posthaste will soon be in your inbox.We encountered an issue signing you up. Please try againThe Financial Post was the first to report the news of Interfor’s decision. A Post reporter was shown a memo from CEO Ian Fillinger to all employees informing them that the company would establish its Peachtree, Georgia, office, just outside Atlanta, as its “primary hub for corporate and functional support.”No time frame for the shift was set out in the memo, sent July 9, and there were no details about which jobs and functions or number of employees will move to the U.S., but in it Fillinger said no layoffs were planned as part of the process and the company will maintain “a continued West Coast presence.” Interfor’s Georgia office. Photo by Google StreetviewInterfor did not respond to Postmedia requests for comment.News of the move came as a surprise to the union that represents about 250 Interfor’s workers at two of its three B.C. mills, as well as mills in Ontario.“I read it this morning while just camping on vacation at Skaha Lake (in the Okanagan) with my morning coffee,” said Jeff Bromley, wood council chair for the United Steelworkers.“I understand that they’ve built and purchased a number of operations in the States over the last 20 years,” Bromley added. “But at the end of the day, it’s still a kick in the gut.”Bromley noted that his union used to represent more than 1,000 Interfor workers in the company’s operations in B.C.’s coastal region where it was one of the biggest producers in the area. Interfor, however, sold off those operations in the early 2000s, while buying interior facilities and mills in Washington State.Now he is concerned other companies might follow suit.“It just gives you that other layer on top of the terrible news that the forest industry in Canada has been over the last decade,” Bromley said.On its website, Interfor characterizes itself as a top three lumber producer in North America with 28 facilities across the continent. However B.C., where the company was founded, now represents just 17 per cent of Interfor’s capacity to mill 4.4 billion board feet a year.A May 2026 corporate presentation indicated that 58 per cent of its operations are in the U.S. between the Southeast and Pacific Northwest. The remaining 42 per cent are split among B.C., Eastern and Atlantic Canada.News of the move comes after Interfor announced the indefinite suspension of operations at two northern Ontario sawmills and two weeks after Canfor Corp. announced that it would close its Northwood pulp mill in Prince George by the end of the year.However, University of B.C. forestry expert Harry Nelson said the move seems like “an individual company decision that makes sense from the company perspective,” possibly with additional tax advantages.“Even if Interfor does sort of corporately change, they still leave a long shadow in B.C.,” said Nelson, a professor in environmental resource policy in UBC’s department of resources management.Interfor owns three sawmills in B.C. Nelson said they have a reputation for financial performance “in the top quartile” for efficiency of their operations compared to competitors, so the company “is probably going to hang on to those.”In his memo, Fillinger said about three quarters of the company’s operations are in Central, Eastern and Atlantic time zones, so moving support functions to Georgia would put them closer to where they do business.“But it’s a shame,” Nelson added, for one of the stalwart companies that built generational wealth around forestry in the province.“It’s been the larger story (about) consolidation within the sector,” Nelson said. Interfor is at the point “we’ve changed enough now that it no longer makes sense for us to be based out of B.C.”Interfor posted a $63 million net loss in its first-quarter financial results reported May 14, compared with a $35 million net loss for the same quarter of 2025. Company shares fell 27 cents in trading Tuesday to close at $12.58 on the Toronto Stock Exchange.With files from Barbara Shecter, Financial Post Join the Conversation This website uses cookies to personalize your content (including ads), and allows us to analyze our traffic. Read more about cookies here. By continuing to use our site, you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.