Looks like it's not just Moose Jaw that's losing a plant. Seems to me like the processing sector is gearing down for a reduced Canadian cowherd....
Cargill to consolidate meat processing at Guelph
Staff
8/31/2010 5:02:00 PM
Agrifood giant Cargill has announced plans to consolidate its Ontario "case-ready" meat processing work at Guelph and shut its Toronto-area plant at Etobicoke early next year.
Cargill Meat Solutions, the company's meat processing wing, didn't specify a date other than the "spring of 2011," but said Monday the move will affect about 600 unionized employees and 90 managerial jobs in Etobicoke.
The beneficiary is Cargill's other Ontario case-ready plant, the former Better Beef further-processing facility at Guelph, which will see "enhanced processing and packaging capabilities" and host "up to 200" new jobs.
Cargill has owned both the case-ready plant and its sister beef slaughter plant at Guelph since 2005. The slaughter plant currently handles around 1,400 cattle per day.
"The decision to discontinue operations at the Toronto facility was very difficult; however, it was made knowing we had the ability to optimize our supply chain and provide real and enhanced value through leveraging our existing operations in Guelph," Jason Kuan, Cargill's general manager for case-ready operations in Canada, said in Monday's release.
The shift to Guelph, he said, "is all about our long-term commitment to being the partner of choice" and was "driven in part by our attention to efficiency and our clear understanding of our customers' evolving need for increased value."
The announcement, he added, "marks another step ahead in support of our retail partners as well as the agriculture community."
Cargill bought the Etobicoke plant in 1992 through what was then called Excel Beef. The 167,000-square foot plant was designed to handle "multi-species" further processing bound directly for the supermarket meat case, including beef, pork, ground beef, poultry and sausage products.
The Etobicoke plant delivered to retailers throughout Ontario; its output had been dedicated largely to Loblaws' supermarket chains.
While the Etobicoke staff can expect "access to career transition and personal and family support," the company noted that "a large number" of that plant's employee base is near retirement, and that it will also "provide expertise to detail all the available options."
Cargill's other case-ready operations, at Calgary and on Montreal's south shore at Chambly, are "unaffected by the change."
Cargill to consolidate meat processing at Guelph
Staff
8/31/2010 5:02:00 PM
Agrifood giant Cargill has announced plans to consolidate its Ontario "case-ready" meat processing work at Guelph and shut its Toronto-area plant at Etobicoke early next year.
Cargill Meat Solutions, the company's meat processing wing, didn't specify a date other than the "spring of 2011," but said Monday the move will affect about 600 unionized employees and 90 managerial jobs in Etobicoke.
The beneficiary is Cargill's other Ontario case-ready plant, the former Better Beef further-processing facility at Guelph, which will see "enhanced processing and packaging capabilities" and host "up to 200" new jobs.
Cargill has owned both the case-ready plant and its sister beef slaughter plant at Guelph since 2005. The slaughter plant currently handles around 1,400 cattle per day.
"The decision to discontinue operations at the Toronto facility was very difficult; however, it was made knowing we had the ability to optimize our supply chain and provide real and enhanced value through leveraging our existing operations in Guelph," Jason Kuan, Cargill's general manager for case-ready operations in Canada, said in Monday's release.
The shift to Guelph, he said, "is all about our long-term commitment to being the partner of choice" and was "driven in part by our attention to efficiency and our clear understanding of our customers' evolving need for increased value."
The announcement, he added, "marks another step ahead in support of our retail partners as well as the agriculture community."
Cargill bought the Etobicoke plant in 1992 through what was then called Excel Beef. The 167,000-square foot plant was designed to handle "multi-species" further processing bound directly for the supermarket meat case, including beef, pork, ground beef, poultry and sausage products.
The Etobicoke plant delivered to retailers throughout Ontario; its output had been dedicated largely to Loblaws' supermarket chains.
While the Etobicoke staff can expect "access to career transition and personal and family support," the company noted that "a large number" of that plant's employee base is near retirement, and that it will also "provide expertise to detail all the available options."
Cargill's other case-ready operations, at Calgary and on Montreal's south shore at Chambly, are "unaffected by the change."