Baked goods distributor Canada Bread intends to close its bakery in St-Côme-Linière, Quebec, on 19 May.

The company said that the products manufactured at this facility will be moved to its other bakeries in Quebec, depending on space availability.

Canada Bread operations vice-president Jennifer Park said: “Our industry is under mounting competitive pressure to become more efficient and this means we have to make very difficult decisions.

“We have been losing volume year-over-year in this facility and have made every effort to maintain the facility.  As a result, we must consolidate the volume into another bakery in Quebec wher we bake the same products and have the capacity to take on this volume.

“While this is the business reality, it is hard to make the necessary changes.  We are doing everything possible to ease the impact on our people.”

The company is also planning to relocate its roll-line production from Beauport to Vincent-Massey, which is located 10km away in Quebec City, in September.

“While this is the business reality, it is hard to make the necessary changes. "

It also intends to move the majority of employees to Vincent-Massey by next March.

The bread and rolls baked at St-Côme-Linière and Beauport will continue to stay in Quebec, and will not be moved to other parts of Canada or other countries.

The St-Côme-Linière facility has a workforce of approximately 56 employees, and the affected employees will receive severance packages, personal counselling, and ongoing outplacement services and workshops.