Canada Bread Company, Limited has announced plans to close its bakery in North Bay, Ontario on August 5, 2016. Products made at the North Bay bakery can be produced at other bakeries in Ontario and Quebec where there is 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 Jennifer Park, vice president, operations, for Canada Bread. "While this is the business reality, it is hard to make the necessary changes, particularly in a community where we have such a strong presence. We are doing everything possible to ease the impact on our people."
The company announced it expects to gradually wind-down operations in North Bay with the transfer of production to other facilities and will cease production on August 5, 2016. The majority of production will be consolidated at Canada Bread's bakeries in Ontario and Quebec.
The bakery in North Bay is a 30,000 square-foot facility that employs approximately 62 associates. The bakery produces buns, rolls and sliced breads.
Canada Bread Company, Limited, 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 19 bakeries and employs approximately 4,500 associates across Canada.