A local company that's been in business for 80 years will soon be letting go almost 90 percent of its employees.

Dixon Lumber Company currently employs 140 people, and within the next 60 days, it will be laying off 125, leaving the company with only 15 employees. However, the company says this is only a temporary lay-off.

Eufaula Employee Melvin Tillman has been working in Eufaula for 19 years and has many friends who work at the Dixon Lumber Company. "I hate to see anybody without a job, but hopefully, you know, this won't last long," he said.

He adds that hearing about the company’s layoff came as a shock. "Hopefully, knowing Dixon, they'll bounce back and you know, hopefully they'll be able to draw their unemployment. Hopefully they'll have some type of you know, income, coming in after this layoff."

On Monday, employees were told about the layoff.

A spokesperson for Dixon says the housing market has put the company in hard times, saying the new housing start off has dropped by 45 percent since last year.

Eufaula Mayor Jay Jaxon says having such a large layoff is like a domino effect for the city. "It'll have an impact, there's no question about that,” he said. “So, fortunately some of our, or most of our industries are doing pretty well and are looking for people."

Officials with the company say this is a temporary layoff and will hire back all employees as soon as they see business pick back up.

"I don't have any doubt that when the market conditions improve they'll be back and they'll be strong," Mayor Jaxon concluded.

During the layoff, the company will operate with 15 employees maintaining the property and its assets, and will soon be stopping its shipments.

Officials with the company say this has been the biggest low in the past 25 years.