It’s a well-known Kitchener company with a 123-year history of feeding families that will slowly be closing up shop starting Monday.
CTV News has learned Labour Day will be the last day of operations for 150 Schneiders employees working at the Distribution Centre.
1500 jobs will be lost as operations shift to a new facility in Hamilton but that isn’t supposed to happen until 2014.
In the meantime, Maple Leaf Foods will scale down operations department by department.
For 50 years, Henry Loos has watched Schneiders trucks come and go at the Schneiders Distribution Centre across the street.
“You get used to things and then when things stop, you miss it.” Loos says. “It’s part of your life.”
In a statement to CTV News, Maple Leaf Foods says “There are approximately 150 full-time positions impacted by the closure. However 75 employees will remain at the Distribution Centre for a number of weeks after September 2nd to support a smooth transition.”
Distribution will be moved to a 25-thousand square foot facility in Puslinch, run by third party logistics provider, D.B. Schenker.
80 people work at the Puslinch facility; it’s unclear whether any of them are former Schneiders employees.
The entire Courtland Avenue facility is slated to close in 2014 with operations moving to Hamilton.
Calls by CTV News to the Employee Association about the Distribution Centre closure went unanswered.
Interview requests to individual employees were politely declined.
A discarded handwritten sign can be found just steps from the plant. The sign says ‘Plant closing, need two dollars.’
In a statement, Maple Leaf says they “remain committed to doing everything they can to continue to help out people transition to new employment as the distribution centre operations wind down.”
“It’s going to be sad to see them go.” Loos says.
Loos says the plant has given a lot to the community. He has pictures taken in 1968 prior to the last expansion.
Other departments within the plant will remain operational until 2014. The move to Hamilton will cost the City of Kitchener 1200 manufacturing jobs.
