09:02 AM EDT, 09/30/2025 (MT Newswires) -- GreenFirst Forest Products ( ICLTF ) , which rose more than 5% from near 52 week lows yesterday, said Tuesday that it has temporarily curtailed certain operations following Kap Paper's decision to begin an orderly idling of operations at its Kapuskasing paper mill.

Effective Oct. 6, GreenFirst will reduce sawmill operations at its Kapuskasing, Hearst, and Cochrane facilities for the equivalent of one week. It said the curtailment at the Kapuskasing sawmill could extend beyond this period, given the site's location and the additional challenges it may face.

Kiln and planer mill operations will continue as scheduled, without interruption.

About 140 direct employees will be impacted by the decision related to the sawmill operations.

Tuesday's statement noted Kap Paper is GreenFirst's primary customer for wood by-products and that company's decision "significantly worsens the challenge of managing these residual materials in Ontario". It also noted this is the fourth pulp and paper mill to close in the province over the past two years. The two remaining pulp and paper mills in Western Ontario cannot, on their own, absorb the full volume of chips and biomass generated by sawmill operations across the province, GreenFirst said. "These tough times have been exacerbated by tariffs and resulting economic uncertainty," it added.

"We are navigating a period of significant uncertainty, marked by the idling of Kap Paper and challenging market conditions. We are doing everything possible to protect our operations, support our employees, and work with governments to find viable solutions for GreenFirst's future," said Joel Fournier, chief executive officer.