TORONTO – Maple Leaf Foods has completed the transfer of production from its facility in Moncton, New Brunswick, to other facilities in the company's prepared meats network. Decommissioning of the facility will be complete by the end of October, the company said.

The Moncton plant is 48 years old; however, Maple Leaf has operated the plant in since 2000. The company decided to transfer production to higher-efficiency facilities in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, and Hamilton, Ontario. Approximately 450 workers were transitioned to new employment, according to the company.

"We are in the final months of a historic transformation of our prepared-meats network that will step-change our competitiveness and profitability," said Michael McCain, president and CEO. "This year, we have been acutely focused on shifting production to new scale facilities and closing legacy plants. We are committed to doing this in a way that is respectful and fair to our people, working closely with communities to support their transition to other employment."

Toronto, Ontario-based Maple Leaf Foods is Canada's leading consumer packaged meats company. The company makes products under the Maple Leaf, Maple Leaf Prime, Maple Leaf Natural Selections, Schneiders, Schneiders Country Naturals and Mina brands. Maple Leaf Foods employs approximately 11,500 people in its operations across Canada and exports to more than 20 global markets including the United States and Asia.