550 staff at Mondelez's Mr Christie's Bakery in Toronto will lose their jobs after the firm announced plans to close the operation in the next ten months.
Mr Christie's, which was acquired by Kraft subsidiary Mondelez after the US giant divided its grocery and global snacks operations last month, is a 625,000 square-foot facility on Lake Ontario. The site is surrounded by condominiums and Mondelez said that this fact had contributed to the "difficult" decision.
“This is a difficult decision, given the role this facility has played within our organisation and in the community for 64 years,” said Alvaro Cuba, Mondelez' vice president of operations.
“However, the plant faces some unique challenges resulting from the changing neighbourhood surrounding the facility.”
Production will shift to another site in Toronto and a bakery in Montreal. The firm has reportedly made no provision for the relocation of employees.
