Announcing the decision, the company said rising costs had forced it to change the logistics arrangements at its beef processing plant in Guelph, Ontario. It added that the plant’s transport needs would be outsourced to an unnamed carrier from February next year.
Matt Gibney, general manager of Cargill Meat Solutions, said: “The Eastern Canadian retail sector continues to be one of the most competitive in North America, and we at Cargill have an obligation to deliver service to our customers in the most economical manner possible.
“Continuing to operate our own transportation business was making it difficult for us to serve our customers as efficiently as we should. It’s not part of our core business, which involves producing safe, nutritious, affordable beef products for Canadian consumers and international customers.”
Cargill is working with the United Food and Commercial Workers Union (UFCW) and the company said it would do its best to minimise the impact on those who lose their jobs. “We truly appreciate the contributions everyone who will be impacted has made, and we will be taking the necessary measures to ensure that every impacted employee will have access to career transition services as well as appropriate severance packages,” said Gibney.