Production lines at Maple Leaf Foods plant in North Battleford are now closed.
Last Thursday, March 28 was the final day of production at the plant that produced bacon products for Maple Leaf Foods.
The closure at the facility on Canola Ave. affects most of the 330 people employed at the plant. However, a small number of employees will stay on through April as the plant is decommissioned and the equipment is removed.
City Director Of Business Development Denis Lavertu confirmed to the Regional Optimist that it's his understanding some workers are staying behind to do clean-up work at the plant.
Lavertu said Maple Leaf Foods has set up an "action centre" for employees to transition to other facilities, including ones in Saskatoon, Winnipeg and Lethbridge. It also will provide resume assistance to those looking for work.
Estimates are that around 160 employees are still looking for new positions. According to Lavertu, about 16 or 17 salaried employees remain in North Battleford and are looking to transition.
A number of employees have already transferred. Lavertu also reports that those immigrant workers with Maple Leaf Foods have either been able to find new work or are able to stay in Canada.
"I think Maple Leaf is doing a great job in supporting their employees that are transitioning and providing employment at other facilities," Lavertu said.
The closure was one of several Maple Leaf Foods closures announced in October 2011 as part of a massive company-wide restructuring across Canada.
A Maple Leaf Task Force was set up shortly after the announcement of the plant closure to assist employees in finding new jobs, as well as to find a new owner for the North Battleford plant.
The task force, which has been meeting from time to time over the past number of months, includes officials from the City and from Maple Leaf, as well as representatives from Service Canada, the Career Employment Centre and the provincial ministry of Agriculture.
Following one of the meetings of the task force last November, Lavertu reported to city council that Maple Leaf Foods was to provide employees with services to help them find new employment, and that the plant property was listed for sale through Colliers International.
In speaking to the Regional Optimist Tuesday, Lavertu said the task force met again recently just prior to the end of production at the plant.
"We did have a bit of a conversation just to kind of see where things were at," said Lavertu.
A priority is finding a new tenant or buyer for the plant. Lavertu said the next step for the task force is to "facilitate those discussions between the Ministry Of Economy, the Ministry Of Agriculture for the province, Maple Leaf and Colliers McClocklin, to ensure that all the needs and leads and opportunities to repurpose that facility will continue."
There has been "a little bit of interest" in the plant, Lavertu states. Now that the plant is out of production, he anticipates "it will make it much easier to show the plant to prospective clients."
The City also intends to continue their own efforts to market the community and make connections with potential businesses who might be interested in relocating in North Battleford. Lavertu noted there are some funding programs for investment attraction that the City hopes to partner with the federal government.
