Jan 08, 2009. /Lesprom.com/. Clearwater Paper has cut the workweek of 250 hourly employees at its Lewiston sawmill from 40 to 30 hours as housing starts continue to slide, Lesprom Network informed according to the Tradingmarkets. The change will last indefinitely, said Matt Van Vleet, a spokesman for Clearwater Paper. Clearwater Paper is facing the same challenge as every other mill in the nation. Housing starts have fallen by almost 50% compared with the same time last year, according to the most recent data available from the U.S. Census Bureau and the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. Right now that problem is compounded by winter weather, which historically has slowed building activity, Van Vleet said. Clearwater Paper's hope is to return to a 40-hour week once the weather improves, but the company has not set a specific date for when that will happen, Van Vleet said. The hourly employees of Clearwater Paper's sawmill have been laid off a total of five weeks in the past two months, including three weeks in November. The sawmill also had three other periods of weather-related, weeklong downtime that involved lesser numbers of employees this year. Clearwater Paper employs 1,700 people in Lewiston, making it the largest private employer in north central Idaho and southeastern Washington. The other segments of Clearwater Paper, consumer tissue and pulp and paperboard, haven't taken downtime.