Maple Leaf Foods to build $660M poultry plant; will close three others

November 27, 2018 – Maple Leaf Foods is building a 660-million-dollar fresh-poultry facility in London, Ontario, that will enhance its ability to process higher-margin products by closing three aging plants in the province.

The protein company will invest an initial 605.5 million dollars into the plant that will serve Eastern Canada and an additional five million dollars into related projects over the next five years.

Meanwhile, 34.5 million dollars will come from the Ontario government and an additional 28 million from the Canadian government.

It will lead to a net reduction of about 300 jobs.

The new facility will span nearly 60,000 square metres and employ 1,450 full- and part-time workers once operations begin, which is expected in the second quarter of 2021.

Construction will begin this spring.

News from © The Canadian Press Enterprises 2018