LONGUEUIL, QUE. — Boulangeries Weston Quebec Ltd., a subsidiary of George Weston Ltd., said it will continue its operations at its Longueuil facility following its employees’ decision to ratify a new collective agreement. In March, the company detailed plans to close its Longueuil bakery by Dec. 31 after an evaluation revealed “significant and recurring reliability issues” at the facility that resulted in higher costs and lower customer service levels.
But according to Boulangeries, negotiations with Teamsters recently resumed and the parties involved were able to reach an agreement in principle on Oct. 29.
“Longueuil is the premier bakery in the Weston North American network of over 40 bakeries,” said Sylvain Roussel, vice-president of human resources and labor relations at Boulangeries Weston Ltd. “We believe that the changes made within the collective agreement will enable us to tackle the plant’s major recurring issue regarding reliability and performance, in order to achieve efficiency levels comparable with those of the company’s other facilities. Our customers also will benefit from new baking schedules, which will ensure the freshest product is available in the market.”
Weston operates 25 bread and cake plants in Canada, including six in Quebec. In addition to Longueuil, the company’s Quebec facilities are located in Gatineau, Montmagny, Napierville, St. Thomas De Joliette, and Ste. Foy.