Olymel will permanently close its Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu factory this summer, a decision that affects 135 employees.
The management of the cooperative explained in a press release that the factory, which processed poultry and pork products, was only operating at 40% of its capacity. The factory will permanently close its doors on July 19.
The announcement was made to employees on Friday. Among the 135 workers affected, 30 employees have the status of temporary foreign workers and 23 are unregulated employees.
Management said it intends to relocate its employees who wish to do so to its nearby factories that have labor needs, in Saint-Jean-Baptiste, Saint-Damase, Ange-Gardien or Boucherville .
The decision is added to a list of closures of establishments belonging to the cooperative in recent years. The closure of its Vallée-Jonction factory in 2023 was one of the most significant as it had nearly 1,000 workers.
Olymel has been restructuring for two years while the Quebec pork industry is going through a crisis, particularly due to the decline in exports.
The cooperative, however, returned to profitability with a surplus of 138.3 million in 2023, compared to a loss of 446.1 million in 2022, according to the results revealed in February.