"While necessary, we regret the impact the shutdown will have on our employees at the Toronto plant," said John Beliveau, COO of Premium Brands' Retail Group. "We greatly appreciate their years of service and dedication and will do our best to help them through this time of transition."
The company cited the facility's age and its location in a predominantly residential area as reasons to end operations at the facility which the company leases. The plant currently produces branded and private label processed meats for retail and foodservice customers. Premium Brands estimated the costs associated with shuttering the plant at C$7.3 million ($5.9 million) before taxes, most of which will be expensed in the fourth quarter of 2015. The plant closure will affect approximately 200 employees, the company said.
"The shutdown of the Toronto plant and the corresponding transfer of production to our three other state-of-the-art or recently renovated deli meat production facilities in Ontario, combined with the investments we are making in expanding the capacity of these facilities, is expected to result in an increase in our pre-tax earnings of approximately $2.4 million," Beliveau noted.
Premium Brands owns a broad range of leading specialty food manufacturing and differentiated food distribution businesses with operations in the United States and Canada.
