Heinz Canada closing century-old Ontario facility; 740 jobs cut

LEAMINGTON, Ont. – After more than a century operating in the heart of Ontario’s tomato country, ketchup-maker Heinz Canada is shutting down its plant in Leamington next year.

The food manufacturer and processor says the decision will cut 740 jobs over the next six to eight months.

Workers at the plant were told of the shutdown on Thursday afternoon.

Heinz says production will now be shifted to other factories in Ontario as well as in the US.

The company also is closing manufacturing facilities in south Carolina and Idaho that will affect another 610 jobs.

The Leamington plant is the second largest Heinz plant in the world and has employed thousands of workers from southwestern Ontario since 1909.