50 Lucerne workers being laid off in Winnipeg plant closure
About 50 employees at Lucerne's Winnipeg plant, which makes ice cream and cheese for Safeway stores, are being laid off this summer.
The plant on King Edward Street is closing on Aug. 30 and the work is being transferred to a facility in Edmonton, according to Safeway, which owns Lucerne.
"The plant was built over 40 years ago and the capacity, the production is not sufficient enough to ensure financial viability," Safeway spokesperson John Graham told CBC News on Friday.
Graham said employees were notified of the plant closure and layoffs on Thursday.
"For employees, we understand the impact and the difficult decision we've had to make," he said.
"From a customer perspective, Lucerne ice cream will still be in every store."
This is the only plant closure that has been announced since Sobeys Inc. took over Canada Safeway Ltd.
Corrections
- A previous version of this story incorrectly stated that the closure of a Lucerne plant in Winnipeg is among several happening across Canada. In fact, Canada Safeway Ltd. says it's the only plant announcement that has been made since Sobeys Inc. acquired Safeway.Mar 14, 2014 9:49 PM CT