Canadian lumber giant Interfor Corp., which blamed U.S. tariffs on softwood lumber when it idled two Northern Ontario sawmills indefinitely in April, has told employees it plans to shift its corporate and functional support operations from the company’s current headquarters in Burnaby, B.C., to an office in Georgia. In a memo sent to employees earlier this month and viewed by the Financial Post, chief executive Ian Fillinger said the Peachtree City office, which is on the outskirts of Atlanta, will be established as Interfor’s “primary hub for corporate and functional support.” The July 9 memo says “a continued West Coast presence” will be maintained as part of a multi-year operational strategy and that the company hopes to handle the gradual shift to a U.S. corporate support hub largely through attrition and future hiring decisions. “There are no layoffs planned as part of this announcement, and your employment with Interfor continues unchanged,” Fillinger wrote. “At the same time, this announcement does not restrict relocation, role-location, or organizational decisions made in the normal course of business, which will continue to follow existing processes.” The memo did not say which specific job functions would eventually move to the U.S. and Interfor did not respond to requests for comment about the move, the number of positions affected, and whether it was considering formally shifting its corporate headquarters to the U.S. According to Fillinger’s memo, about three-quarters of Interfor’s operations are in the Central, Eastern, and Atlantic time zones, while British Columbia operates on Pacific time. He said the changes he outlined would position the company’s support functions closer to where the business operates and strengthen how mills and customers are served by improving coordination, speed and decision-making. The company has 4,000 employees according to its website. A 2022 document, when Interfor had closer to 5,000 employees, indicated about 45 per cent were in Canada. Since last year, Interfor and other lumber companies have been grappling with the impact of U.S. tariffs on softwood lumber. A 10 per cent tariff came on top of longstanding anti-dumping and countervailing duties, and softwood lumber shipments to the U.S. now face a cumulative levy of 45 per cent. The United States is a big customer for Interfor. According to a November 2025 investor presentation, the U.S. accounted for 84 per cent of Interfor’s lumber sales by market. At the time, 62 per cent of the company’s operations were in the U.S. south and northwest, with the balance in the B.C. interior and eastern Canada. In the presentation, Interfor said about 25 per cent of the company’s overall shipments were exposed to duties resulting from direct shipments into the United States from Canada. That figure was reduced to around 20 per cent in a follow-up presentation in May of this year. So far, it looks like lumber is not a direct target of U.S. President Donald Trump’s latest tariff onslaught — a 50 per cent levy on hundreds of categories of Canadian products including plywood and particleboard that will come into effect Aug. 19. But the wider forestry industry and supply chains are expected to be affected. In last fall’s investors presentation, Interfor billed itself as a top-three producer in North America and the only publicly traded pure-play lumber producer of scale. The company’s roots date back to 1963 when it began as a coastal logging and manufacturing company in British Columbia. A series of acquisitions, name changes and a public listing followed and, in 1977, Sauder Industries acquired a controlling interest. The company’s name was changed to International Forest Products Ltd. and then finally to Interfor in 2006 in the early days of an expansion into the U.S. that would eventually include the acquisition of sawmills in Washington, Oregon, Arkansas, Georgia and South Carolina. Fillinger, who has spent more than 30 years in the lumber industry, joined Interfor in 2005 and became CEO in January 2020. The trade war initiated by the U.S. administration of President Donald Trump last year has prompted a number of Canadian companies to consider whether to shift production or relocate in the United States, and some with substantial operations or shareholder bases there have already made the move. A July 7 survey by KPMG revealed that nearly three in 10 Canadian manufacturers have moved at least some production to the U.S., while 11 per cent plan to move their headquarters to the U.S. within the next five years. Waste management company GFL Environmental Inc. announced plans in January to move its headquarters from Vaughan, Ont., to Miami Beach, Fla., and Montreal-based trucking and logistics company TFI International Inc. considered changing its legal domicile to the United States last year — citing the 70 per cent of its operations located there — but reversed course after a rebuke from one of its largest shareholders, the Caisse de Depot et Placement du Quebec. Interfor’s corporate presence in Canada shrank in 2024 when the company sold three manufacturing facilities in Quebec and closed its Montreal corporate office. At the time, Interfor said the moves would support a focus on the areas of highest future potential across the remainder of the company. West Fraser Timber reports third-quarter net loss of US$204 million'Very concerning': Lumber industry dismayed as U.S. tariffs soar on Canadian softwood lumber • Email: bshecter@nationalpost.com