Canfor Corporation (TSX:CFP) said Friday it will restart operations at its Mackenzie sawmill this summer, putting at least 60 people back to work.

It said the decision comes as a result of its efforts to increase production of "value-added products."

Vancouver-based Canfor said the job count doesn't include suppliers and contractors associated with the operation in northern B.C.

The mill will return to operation with a single shift, and add 80 million board feet of SPF (spruce-pine-fir) lumber to its annual production levels, Canfor said in a statement.

It wasn't specific on the startup date.

Canfor shut the mill indefinitely in June 2008, citing weak lumber markets as a result of the U.S. housing crisis. The closure put 200 employees out of work.

Friday's announcement comes the day after Canfor said it lost nearly $59 million in the January-March quarter, and that it was operating at 60 per cent capacity at its mills.

It also said it would make further cuts across the company to save money as lumber prices remain depressed and the recession weighs on its business.

Canfor and other forestry firms have been cutting back production as a result of falling demand.

Canfor has about 7,000 employees and 2,000 contractors at 32 plants in B.C., Alberta, Quebec, Washington state and the Carolinas.

With files from The Canadian Press