May 4, 2011
 

Olymel l.p. to cease plant's operation

Canadian pork and poultry processor Olymel l.p. formally declared that it will shut down its Iberville processing plant on August 19, which will cause the loss of 120 jobs.

In a news release, the company said the distribution centre adjacent to the Iberville plant where 15 people are currently working will continue operating.

Since last year, the Iberville plant has focused its operations on the production of chicken tournedos and skewers. Most of the production volume will be taken over by a nearby Olymel plant located in St-Jean-sur-Richelieu.

The company said it will invest more than CAD500,000 (US$524,411) to renovate the St-Jean-sur-Richelieu facility to accommodate the operations shift and 30 new jobs will be added to the current staff of 85. These new jobs will be offered first to employees who were laid off from the Iberville plant.

"Since the restructuring that began last year, market conditions have not improved and current low production volumes for chicken tournedos and skewers no longer justify continued operation of the Iberville plant," said Olymel President and CEO Réjean Nadeau. "These changes should generate significant economies of scale in our operations."

A job placement committee will be established to support workers losing their jobs, which include 105 in the production sector, 10 management and support staff and five maintenance workers.

Olymel l.p. employs a total of nearly 10,000 people at facilities in Québec, Ontario and Alberta with slaughter and processing capacity of 160,000 hogs and 1.7 million poultry per week.

The company exports nearly half its production, mainly to the US, Japan and Australia, as well as some sixty other countries. Its sales stood at CAD2 billion (US$2.1 billion) this year.