According to a report in Canadian Business, Olymel says that the company has enough capacity at its other plants in Drummondville, Quebec and Cornwall, Ontario.

Chief executive Rejean Nadeau told Canadian Business: "We have decided to focus our efforts on returning to profitability in this sector by rationalizing our activities and consolidating from existing plants.

Olymel notified employees, the union and the municipality of its final decision this week.

Lower volumes, declining hog production, competition from US manufacturers and the strong Canadian dollar were among the factors the company put forward for the decision.