Around forty workers at the Olymel plant in Centre-du-Québec have been laid off since mid-February because the processor transferred two bacon production lines to Ontario. The union considers it “unacceptable that the company can use taxpayers’ money in this way.”
“The effect of moving these two bulk bacon lines to Cornwall has gradually affected, since February 12, 42 workers,” confirmed to Newspaper Paul Beauchamp, first vice-president of Olymel, Tuesday.
Last fall, employees were informed that Olymel wanted to move production lines to Cornwall and at the same time bring another 500 gram bacon production line back to Quebec.
However, if the movement of lines to Doug Ford’s province did indeed take place, and cost the jobs of 42 workers here, the planned transfer to Quebec was postponed.
“There will therefore remain 344 regulated employees and 51 non-regulated employees at the plant,” summarized Paul Beauchamp of Olymel.
Remember that in May 2021, Quebec had invested $150 million in Olymel, or $74 million from the Fund for the Growth of Quebec Businesses (FCEQ) of the Ministry of the Economy and $76 million from Investissement Québec (IQ).
The angry union
Angered by these job cuts, the president of the Fédération du commerce (FC–CSN), Alexandre Laviolette, representing the staff of the Drummondville factory, denounced the Newspaper these new job losses.
“The Quebec government has invested significant sums of public money in the pork industry to support Olymel in particular,” he lamented.
“It is unacceptable that the company can use Quebec taxpayers’ money to destroy good jobs in Quebec and create new ones in Ontario,” he concluded.
In interview at Newspaper At the beginning of March, Olymel CEO Yanick Gervais affirmed that there would be no mega-announcements of layoffs of 900 people this year.