Up to 200 meat plant workers in Red Deer face layoffs

In an article published earlier this week, Lana Michelin of the Red Deer Advocate reported that Olymel plans to layoff at least 100 workers at their pork-processing plant in Red Deer.

Michelin reported that the Québec-based company claims they plan to layoff 100 workers over the next few weeks. A company spokesperson confirmed that they had already delivered 30 layoff notices last week and planned to serve another 30 this week.

However, the company also told Michelin that they had hired 200 more workers than they needed, so the final layoff number could rise even higher.

According to Michelin, Olymel has implemented an early retirement incentive programme at its Red Deer processing facility for workers who are over 60 years old or who have been with the company for at least 10 years.

The company claims that 4 workers have entered the programme and 20 more have expressed interest. Michelin reports that this measure was a way to reduce employee downsizing, but it’s still downsizing.

Usually, when workers retires, someone takes their place. With attrition, their vacancy remains unfilled, which means that potential workers don’t end up getting hired. They’re laid off before even getting interviewed.

Attrition is still layoffs, just layoffs for future workers.

It’s not just Red Deer workers who are getting screwed by Olymel, however

Last May, Olymel announced that they were curbing pig production in Alberta and Saskatchewan by about 17,000 a year. This reduction, according to a company media release, was set to affect about 80 workers at 5 plants in Alberta and 1 in Saskatchewan. They had already received their layoff notices by the time the media release went public.

Last February, the company announced they were closing two pork processing plants in Québec: Blainville and Laval. As a result, 170 workers would be out of work.

Just two months later, Olymel said they were closing a plant in Vallée-Jonction, Québec, where nearly 994 workers oversaw the slaughtering, cutting, and deboning of pigs. The plan was to close the plant by the end of the year.

In September, they announced the closure of another pork processing plant, this time in Princeville, Québec. In that same announcement, they indicated that they planned to close a poultry processing plant in Paris, Ontario. This closure was forecast to put 301 workers out of a job in Princeville and 93 workers in Paris.

That’s a combined more than 1,700 confirmed layoffs in Alberta, Saskatchewan, Ontario, and Québec in the last 12 months, with another 100 potential layoffs in Red Deer.

Local 401 of The United Food and Commercial Workers published a media release 3 days ago, saying that they have been in “constant contact with its members at the plant since the company announced layoffs, working to answer questions and provide support for its members and their families already struggling with the cost of living”.

They also are pushing for the provincial government to step in to provide financial relief to the Red Deer workers.

Olymel acquired the Red Deer plant in 2001.