TORONTO — Canada Bread Co. Ltd., a subsidiary of Grupo Bimbo S.A.B. de C.V., has announced plans to close its bakery in St-Côme-Linière, Que., on May 19. Production of the facility’s bread will be transferred to other Canada Bread bakeries in Quebec, the company said.
“Our industry is under mounting competitive pressure to become more efficient, and this means we have to make very difficult decisions,” said Jennifer Park, vice-president of operations at Canada Bread. “We have been losing volume year-over-year in this facility and have made every effort to maintain the facility. As a result, we must consolidate the volume into another bakery in Quebec where we bake the same products and have the capacity to take on this volume. While this is the business reality, it is hard to make the necessary changes. We are doing everything possible to ease the impact on our people.”
The St-Côme-Linière facility employs 56.
In addition to closing the St-Côme-Linière bakery, Canada Bread said it will move roll-line production from its bakery in Beauport, Que., to its bakery in Vincent-Massey, Que., by September. The majority of employees at the Beauport facility will transfer to the Vincent-Massey plant by March 2018, when Canada Bread begins roll production to meet the summer season peak demand, the company noted.
Canada Bread said the bread baked at St-Côme-Linière and rolls from Beauport will continue to be baked in Quebec, with the exclusion of one panini stock-keeping unit, which will be absorbed within Wholesome Harvest Baking’s existing network.
Canada Bread closed its bakery in North Bay, Ont., in August 2016 and its bakery in Halifax, Nova Scotia, in November 2015. The company operates 17 bakeries and employs approximately 4,125 across Canada. The company distributes its products under such brands as Dempster’s, Villaggio, POM, Bon Matin, Ben’s, Healthy Way, McGavins and Vachon through a network of more than 1,200 routes operated by more than 1,150 independent operators and some corporate associates.
