Kellogg's closing Ontario plant
By Canadian Packaging Staff
General H.J. Heinz Co. Kellogg Canada Company Kellogg Company Kellogg pLant closure Kellogg's Kraft Foods Group Inc. Lance Canada Ltd. plant closures Sleeman Breweries Ltd.Cereal giant, Kellogg's set to close its London, Ontario facility in 2014 with a loss of over 500 jobs.
London, Ont.—That’s not-so Grrrr-eat!
Call it a change of taste, but the Kellogg Company is pointing to changing marketplace trends and transforming customer eating habits for its decision to close up its London, Ont. cereal-making plant by the end of 2014—a decision that will cost the livelihood of more than 500 full-time jobs.
For over 90-years, Kellogg’s has operated a processing plant in London, and even though it announced 110 layoffs in November of 2013, the plant closure was unexpected.
While no stranger to supplying tasty, sugary kid’s cereals, Kellogg’s also offered healthy alternative cereals, but with consumers on-the-go more than ever, the company found its breakfast market eroded by consumers who wanted the convenience and healthy benefits from yoghurts and cereal bars—facts backed up by the company’s sharp decline in sales, though Kellogg’s, for the record, does also produce its own cereal bars, Eggo waffles and more.
Of course, Kellogg’s isn’t alone in feeling the pinch, but it also announced plans to better utilize its operations—lean manufacturing—saying it would also close a facility in Australia while expanding one in Thailand.
While not coming out and saying why one over the other, we can assume it comes down to the fact that workers in Thailand may not be as highly paid as those in Canada or Australia…
While there is no information regarding if capacity from the London plant will be moved to the Belleville, Ont. plant, for now it appears as though the eastern Ontario plant is safe.
Food processors in Ontario have been taking a hit after hit lately, as H.J. Heinz Co. recently announced it was closing its Leamington, Ont. tomato processing (and ketchup) plant by June of 2014, with a loss of 714 jobs. There are unconfirmed reports that have outside interests looking to purchase the facility and convert it to a different processing facility.
Other companies announcing closures include:
- Lance Canada Ltd., a Cambridge-located baked snack company that announced that after 100 years in business, it would close its doors in 2014, affecting 130 employees.
- Kraft Foods Group Inc. had said in 2012 that it would shutter its Oakville, Ont. plant affected 65 workers.
- Sleeman Breweries Ltd. also closed its doors to its Darmouth, NS facility, affecting 14 people—due to failed attempts to sell the facility.
Regarding the Kellogg’s London facility, the company notes that it is the oldest facility they operate, and the up-keep on it was becoming increasingly cost-prohibitive.
Advertisement
