The Maple Leaf Foods Plant closure in Perth Sound has local politicians concerned.
St. Marys Mayor Al Strathdee said he hopes the employees will be employed at a new Maple Leaf facility in London. Strathdee added he was very disappointed that the plant in Perth South will close by 2022. The plant is one of three that is being closed to make way for a new, large-scale poultry processing facility that the company is building. Maple Leaf Foods is set to build a new $660 million poultry facility in London.
Initially, the plant will employ an estimated 1,400 full and part-time employees. The announcement states that current St. Marys employees will be given priority for jobs at the new London facility.
Perth South Mayor Bob Wilhelm said that they're disappointed, but the municipality still has many employment opportunities that the Maple Leaf employees can find.
"There are lots of opportunities and we will certainly work with all the different agencies and employees to find them different positions, and hopefully the transition goes smoothly," he said.
Wilhelm said that Perth South has a conference call set up with Maple Leaf on Thursday, where they will discuss helping the outgoing employees.
"The plant's not closing tomorrow so we have some time to work with them, so I think the positive spin is that there's jobs out there, and we will be assisting the employees in finding what's suitable for them," he said.
