Plywood plant cuts 25% jobs

One of the nation’s leading producers of plywood has announced that it will let go a quarter of its workforce at a plant in southwestern Oregon. Roseburg Forest Producers said Friday it laid off about 90 of its approximate 350 employees from a plywood plant in Dillard. The Roseburg News-Review reports that the company was able to extend immediate offers to 50 employees for jobs at other plants. Jake Elston is the senior vice president of operations at Roseburg Forest Producers. He says developers are building fewer homes and that the company is facing increased competition from other manufacturers.

Tariffs to squeeze U.S. consumers

The latest tariffs President Donald Trump plans to impose on Chinese goods would cost U.S. households an average of $200 a year, some economists estimate, and would start to bite consumers and retailers just as the holiday shopping season begins. That cost would come on top of the roughly $830 cost imposed per household from Trump’s existing tariffs, according to a New York Federal Reserve analysis. Trump plans to tax $300 billion of Chinese imports at 10% starting in September with the goal of accelerating trade talks with Beijing to favor the United States. The new tariffs would be in addition to 25% tariffs Trump has imposed on $250 billion in Chinese products. Those are mostly industrial goods. By contrast, the new tariffs would target products used by American consumers, like shoes, clothing and cellphones.