Lawtons to cut 26 jobs following Sobeys-McKesson Atlantic partnership

A total of 26 jobs are being cut at Lawtons distribution centres in Dartmouth, N.S., and St. John’s, N.L., as the parent company Sobeys forms a partnership with McKesson Canada in Atlantic Canada.

The partnership is to provide distribution services, Sobeys spokesperson Shauna Selig said in an email to Global News, to give “a consistent source of supply across all regions.”

As a result of the partnership, Selig said full-time and part-time positions will be cut as less supply is carried at the warehouses.

“These decisions are always difficult when people are impacted and we will work closely with these employees through the next phase of their careers,” Selig said.

Sobeys and McKesson have had a partnership in both Ontario and Western Canada for many years, to provide pharmaceutical and over-the-counter product supply. Selig called the Atlantic partnership a “natural progression of this relationship.”

Selig said it will be leveraging “its exiting Atlantic Canada distribution centres in Moncton and St. John’s and add resources where required” and expected a “net neutral” employment level for Atlantic Canada, but acknowledged the information “does not make the announcement any easier.”