The new owner of Warrnambool Cheese & Butter (WCB), Canadian company Saputo, has announced the closure of four plants in North America as part of an operational efficiency drive.
Saputo will close four of its facilities, two in Canada and two in the USA, with production from those to be integrated into other Saputo facilities.
One Canadian plant produces evaporated and skim milk and the other is a powdered milk processing facility. In the US, the company is closing a swiss cheese facility and a mozzarella plant.
The first facility closure is scheduled in May and the last closure will occur in December 2015. According to Saputo, around 180 of its employees will be affected.
“Over the recent years, Saputo has maintained efforts to pursue additional efficiencies and decrease costs while strengthening its market presence. The announced measures are part of the company’s continual analysis of its overall activities,” the company says.
Saputo was the winner of the recent high profile bidding war with Australian companies Murray Goulburn and Bega Cheese for Victorian dairy processor WCB.
Saputo is also seeking to restructure the WCB board of directors. The modifications, which will be considered at a general meeting on 9 May, include reducing the number of directors from nine down to five, and removing the requirement that the board have four or more supplier directors.
All of the current directors and associate directors will resign at the close of the general meeting, with three current WCB directors, Terry Richardson, Bruce Vallance and Neville Fielke, to stand for re-election.
