Olymel will close a plant in Saint-Hyacinthe in February, resulting in the loss of 107 jobs, the food processor announced Thursday.
The cooperative mentioned that the volumes of products to be packaged have decreased at its plant located on Saint-Jacques Street. Its other factories, responsible for slaughtering and cutting, are able to take over for packaging activities.
The ax fell as Olymel carried out a reorganization of its activities. Last October, it had also announced the elimination of 177 executive positions within the cooperative. Olymel must navigate against several headwinds, including labor shortages, disruptions in the supply chain, inflation in the price of raw materials and global economic uncertainty.
An important player
The company’s difficulties have repercussions on the Quebec food industry, since Olymel represents 80% of pork processing in Quebec.
In February, Sollio, the parent company of the Olymel cooperative, indicated that changes were needed in the activities of its division. “We are going to reassess all of our activities,” said the CEO, Pascal Houle, as part of the publication of the results. We will review activities to ensure that next year’s results meet the expectations of the board of directors and management. The cooperative had disclosed a loss before patronage refunds and taxes of $18.7 million in its 2021 fiscal year ended October 31, compared to a surplus of $201 million in 2020. The net loss was $10.3 million in 2021 , compared to a surplus of 141 million in the previous year.
Olymel says that employees affected by the closure of its plant will have the opportunity to be transferred to its other facilities in the region.
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