Lilydale, which recently announced more than 100 layoffs at its chicken processing plant in Wynyard, Sask., said the action was unavoidable.
“There’s a new competitor in the province and that’s affected our actual numbers that we will be processing and that has led directly to the layoffs,” said Rob Willmott, senior director of sales for Lilydale.
The new competitor is Prairie Pride Natural Foods Ltd., which is being built in Saskatoon.
Willmott said Lilydale hopes to save as many jobs as possible.
“So, although the layoff notices were given, we’re always working to maintain some positions,” he said. “There’s not much hope that we will be able to maintain many of them, but some of them might be salvaged.”
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Willmott added many laid-off workers could find employment at Prairie Pride.
Van Stewart, general manager of Chicken Farmers of Saskatchewan, hoped that happens.
“Job losses are certainly not a pleasant thing for anybody,” Stewart said. “I certainly hope if someone loses their job over there they can pick it up at another location.”
National supply allocations allow Saskatchewan to process 500,000 birds a week. Competition means less business.
“When it goes from being all of Lilydale to being split between us and the competitor, we just don’t have the same numbers we once did,” Willmott said. “So therefore, we don’t require the staffing.”
Wynyard mayor Sharon Armstrong is concerned about the impact on her community. She said about 230 of Lilydale’s employees have a Wynyard post office address. Others come from nearby towns such as Naicam, Spalding and Southey.
Wynyard has also invested heavily in the town’s water system to accommodate the Lilydale plant.
“(We) doubled our filtration plant, built another well, built a reservoir and so on. So we have invested all of that capital.”
Willmott said the layoff notices are not signs of future problems.
“We have no intentions to close the plant at this point, none at all,” he said. “Lilydale intends to remain a presence in the province for a long time.”
Instead, Willmott said the new competition could improve operations at the Wynyard plant.
“We at Lilydale have to start looking at ways to maintain business within that facility,” he said.
“We’re looking at getting more efficient and becoming a better processor in the province. We’re making changes to make sure we remain competitive and that’s where the layoffs are coming from.”
Stewart said Lilydale will probably down-size to one shift.
