Olymel to close Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu poultry, pork plant

Olymel’s poultry and pork processing facility at Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu, Quebec, will be shuttered this summer, the company announced earlier this month.

“This decision comes against a backdrop of falling production volumes, which has led the plant to operate at only 40% of its operational capacity,” the company said in an April 19 news release.

Operations at the plant will be “redeployed” to other Olymel facilities.

The closure will affect 135 employees, including 30 temporary foreign workers. The company said workers would be given the option to relocate to neighbouring plants.

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Olymel has seen a spate of losses in recent years. It dialed back hog production in Alberta and Saskatchewan last year, and closed several processing plants in Ontario and Quebec, including at Vallee-Jonction, Sainte-Hyacinthe and Princeville.

Earlier this year, Olymel’s parent company, Sollio Cooperative Group, said it was back in the black after 2023’s losses, with Olymel posting a surplus of $138.3 million after a loss of $446.1 million in 2022.

The company said it achieved this via improved performance in fresh pork, reduced slaughter volume, consolidating plants and distribution centres, disposing of “non-strategic assets,” recruiting foreign workers to offset local labour shortages and focusing on value-added products.