Olymel announced Wednesday the closure of two of its pork processing plants in Laval and Blainville, which will result in the loss of 170 jobs.

In a press release, the company, which specializes in pork and poultry processing, said the two closures were part of a reorganization plan it had already launched in 2021 to "optimize its operations."

The two plants will officially cease operations on April 28.

The Blainville plant, on the North Shore of Montreal, employs 134 people; the Laval plant employs 36.

The affected employees have already been notified; they will receive 12 weeks' notice of layoff, Olymel said.

They will have the option of being relocated to other company facilities. The "relocation plan" for the employees will be presented "in the next few weeks."

"The decision to close our two processing plants in Blainville and Laval is part of the reorganization that began more than a year ago and is due to the ability of other facilities to produce the same products and therefore achieve savings and efficiencies," said Olymel President and CEO Yanick Gervais.

"I believe that today's announcement should enable us to achieve our operational optimization objectives more rapidly in the context of an unfavorable economic conditions, with rising raw material costs, labour shortages and the weakness of certain markets all affecting the company's profitability," he added.

Reached by phone, the FTQ-affiliated United Food and Commercial Workers union said it was "sad to hear" about the closures.

The union promises to "do everything possible to facilitate the smooth transition of workers to other plants." It noted that with labour shortages, particularly in this area, these employees are in demand.

The union also stressed that the outplacement committee should be set up quickly.

The workers in these two factories produce ham, pâtés and charcuterie, marketed under the La Tour Eiffel and Nostrano brands. Olymel says that most of these brands will be maintained and that they will be produced in other facilities.

Olymel has several plants in Quebec, Ontario, New Brunswick, Alberta and Saskatchewan.

- This report by The Canadian Press was first published in French on Feb. 1, 2023