Sylvia Sicuso, Canada Bread’s spokesperson, said production has steadily reduced at the Calgary bakery since it was purchased three years ago
“We have made every effort to maintain the facility. However, the current capacity utilization is less than 50%,” she said, noting that closing the site will help reduce the overall costs in its other bakeries.
“We must consolidate the volume into other bakeries in the West [of Canada] where we bake the same products and have the capacity to take on the volume."
Sicuso said the pantry breads stored at the Calgary plant will be transferred to facilities in Langley, British Columbia; Edmonton, Alberta; and Winnipeg, Manitoba.
Job losses
Canada Bread said the bakery closure will affect approximately 63 employees, but assured it will redeploy those who are interested in staying with the company in other facilities.
“Affected associates will receive severance packages, as well as personal counseling and ongoing outplacement services and workshops,” the company said.
After the facility closes, Canada Bread will have 16 bakeries within its network in Canada.
Grupo Bimbo has invested more than $380m in job creation, facility expansions and strategic acquisitions, including Vachon Bakeries and Stonemill Bakehouse, in the country since 2014.
In 2016, Canada Bread’s sales were $1.1bn compared to $976.6m in 2015.