FOG BLOG CANADA LOG: OLYMEL PLANT CLOSURE IN QUEBEC! 1000 WORKERS TO LOSE THEIR JOBS!

Olymel to close Quebec pork plant, nearly 1,000 people to lose their jobs The company's CEO describes closure as 'inevitable' Olymel will close its factory in Vallée-Jonction, Que., a move that will leave 994 workers without a job.

The factory, a slaughterhouse and meat processing plant 70 kilometres south of Quebec City, is one of four run by the company in Quebec.

Yanick Gervais, the company's CEO and president, described the closing of the 32-year-old plant as "inevitable," after what he called a difficult past two years for the company.

"The pandemic, the labour shortage, the rise of costs related to inflation, not to mention the closure of the Chinese market have really affected the fresh pork industry," said Gervais.

The decision to close the Vallée-Jonction plant was based on considerations about its operational capacity, he said, blaming the labour shortage in the area and the state of the plant's infrastructure.

• Olymel workers' union reaches agreement with employer at Quebec plant

• Tentative deal reached in labour dispute at Olymel meat plant

According to Gervais, over 200 workers have left the plant in the past two years and the facility would have required a $40-million investment to keep it up and running.

"The market is pretty bad. It's a worldwide problem. All our costs are going up," said Gervais, adding it has become increasingly difficult to compete with companies in other countries.

Of the 994 people affected by the closure, 911 are union members and 83 are executives. The plant also employs 122 temporary foreign workers.

The plant will be closed over an eight-month period ending next December.

The company said it will offer workers who have lost their jobs the possibility of relocating to other plants in the province.

But those who want to stay in the region, there is concern.