ETOBICOKE: 320 jobs lost as Islington plant downsizes
The Islington facility currently employs 380 workers producing flyers and catalogues and binding directories. But over the next four weeks, those operations will be scaled back, said company spokesman Tony Ross, leaving just 60 full-time workers on the job.
"Islington plant productions will move to other Quebecor World plants," Ross said, adding that the company is bringing in outplacement services to work with laid off workers and is also providing information on opportunities in other facilities.
The measures are part of Quebecor's global retooling and restructuring program, due to reach completion later this year and designed to help cut costs and improve productivity across the board by consolidating production in larger, more efficient facilities. A total of 700 full-time positions will be lost as a result, the remainder impacting a North Haven, Connecticut facility, which will be completely closed at the end of the year.
News of the lay-offs conveniently reached Bob Huget, vice-president of the Communications, Energy and Paperworkers Union of Canada (which represents about 275 of the Islington plant's employees), while he was on his way down to Queen's Park to call on the provincial government to step in to curb job losses in the manufacturing sector.
"It provided for us an illustration to present Premier (Dalton) McGuinty of the seriousness of the manufacturing situation in Ontario," he told The Guardian Friday.
"It is time for leadership Ontario to apply emergency first aid to our manufacturing economy," he furthered in a statement, proposing a labour and business summit to discuss the jobs crisis in his sector. "First, we must put a tourniquet on the bleeding with a message to employers to hold off further announcements of job losses that can take us into a recession.
"Then we can put in place many well considered options for a recovery. What we need today is leadership from Premier McGuinty."
McGuinty responded Thursday at Queen's Park that he would consider the proposed summit.
