Saputo shuttering three Canadian plants to cut costs
by The Canadian Press, with files from Canadian Manufacturing.com
Montreal-based dairy processor and cheese maker Saputo says it is diverting production to other facilities
MONTREAL—Saputo Inc. says it will close three plants in Eastern and Atlantic Canada employing some 230 workers by the end of next year in a move to cut costs and boost efficiency.
The Montreal-based dairy processor and cheese maker said its plant in Sydney, N.S., will close in June, followed by another in Princeville, Que., in August. A third facility in Ottawa will close in December 2017.
Production will be diverted to other Saputo facilities.
The company’s website says it operates 55 plants in total, 25 of which it says are in Canada. It runs another 25 facilities in the U.S.; two plants in Argentina and three in Australia.
The move is expected to save $7 million annually by fiscal 2019. Costs connected with the closures will be approximately $23 million after taxes, which include an after tax fixed assets write-down of about $19 million.
Meanwhile, Saputo says it plans to invest about $32 million in other locations over the next two years as part of normal capital expenditures.
Saputo is the largest cheese manufacturer in Canada and one of the top 10 dairy processors in the world.
