Canada Bread closing Halifax bakery

TORONTO—Canada Bread Co., Ltd. has announced plans to close its Halifax, N.S. bakery.

The 4,645 square-metre facility employs about 105 workers and produces sliced breads and English muffins primarily under the Ben’s, Dempster’s, Villaggio and private label brands.

The move comes less than a year after Canada Bread was acquired by Mexico’s Grupo Bimbo from Maple Leaf Foods for $1.9 billion.

The company says it will gradually wind-down operations starting June, 2015, and will close the facility in November. The majority of production will be consolidated at Canada Bread’s bakeries in Moncton, N.B. and Woodstock, N.B., which the company says have available capacity with improved speed and efficiency.

“Our industry is under mounting competitive pressure to become more efficient and this means we have to make very difficult decisions,” said Barry McLean, president of Canada Bread.

The company said in a press release that workers from the Halifax bakery will receive severance packages that “go beyond provincial labour requirements,” as well as personal counseling and ongoing outplacement services and workshops.

Canada Bread Company, Ltd, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Grupo Bimbo since May 2014, is a leading producer and distributor of packaged fresh bread and bakery products with brands such as Dempster’s®, Villaggio®, POM®, Bon Matin®, Ben’s®, Healthy Way®, McGavins® and Vachon®. In business for more than 100 years, the Company operates 17 bakeries and employs approximately 4,400 associates across Canada. It distributes its products through a network of more than 1,000 routes operated by independent operators and some Corporate Associates. For more information, please visit www.canadabread.com.