Agropur is carrying out an organisational review to increase the profitability of its Canadian operations. A total of 125 employees across the country will be affected.
The announcement comes after the dairy cooperative saw its business in Canada “underperform” during the third quarter of its fiscal year.
While the disappointing performance was due in part to “aggressive competition” in Canadian markets, the company also had to deal with a range of internal management problems.
For example, the transfer of distribution operations from the Don Mills plant to a new centre in Etobicoke in Toronto at the end of the quarter caused “significant efficiency losses”.
A recall of goods produced at the company’s Lachute plant in Quebec also affected its figures for the period.
In a statement this week, Agropur said: “Agropur’s growth strategy requires optimisation of its operational structures and cost structure to enable reinvestment in its future development, in line with its goal of profitable, sustainable growth.
“The cooperative recognises that implementation of this organisational review involves difficult decisions. Agropur is grateful to the employees who are leaving the organisation for their contribution and will support them through the transition.”
During its third quarter, Agropur saw sales increase 12% on the year-ago period to CAD 1.9 billion ($1.44 billion).
Factors in the increase included, in the US, higher cheese prices, higher sales volumes and the appreciation of the US dollar against the Canadian dollar. In Canada, sales increased primarily as a result of contracts with new customers.
Last month, Agropur appointed Émile Cordeau its new CEO to replace Robert Coallier.
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