XPost: can.politics, ont.politics   
   From: ConsRCons@govt.cda   
      
   And all that the Canadian federal government - sadly known as the Harper   
   government - would have to do to stop this bleeding of our jobs is this:   
      
   Any company that closes its doors or lays off Canadian workers to take   
   its manufacturing offshore to a foreign lower-labour-cost country,   
   should be faced with very high import fees and taxes for any of those   
   goods back into Canada.   
      
   Done.  You can make them dirt cheap . . .  but don't expect to  sell   
   them to the Canadian people you unemployed.   
   _____________________________________________________________   
      
   November 14, 2013 - Globe and Mail   
      
   Heinz to close Ontario factory, trim 740 jobs   
      
      
   Ketchup giant will consolidate manufacturing to St. Marys, Ont. and   
   other U.S plants, close operations in South Carolina and Indiana   
      
   H.J. Heinz Co. is closing its plant in Leamington, Ont., a move that   
   will cost 740 jobs and end more than a century of ketchup making in the   
   Southern Ontario town.   
      
   The move is part of a major cost-cutting effort by Heinz's new owners,   
   Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway Inc. and Brazilian hedge fund 3G   
   Capital, which bought the company in June for $28-billion (U.S.). Heinz   
   is also closing two other factories, in Florence, S.C., and Pocatello,   
   Ind., shedding a further 610 jobs as it moves production of ketchup and   
   sauces to fewer plants.   
      
   Heinz's cuts underscore the significant pressures facing manufacturing   
   plants in Canada, in part because the loonie has been hovering near   
   parity for the past few years, making exports more expensive. Southern   
   Ontario's economy has been hit particularly hard in recent years by   
   factory closures as companies shift production to places with cheaper   
   labour and higher productivity. Leamington is about 50 kilometres   
   southeast of Windsor, Ont., and the regional unemployment rate is above   
   9 per cent.   
      
   The Berkshire-led buyout of Heinz, announced in February, prompted fears   
   it would begin to close plants in pursuit of efficiencies, said Erna van   
   Duren, a professor at the University of Guelph who works with the food   
   processing industry.   
      
   "Our decision to consolidate manufacturing across North America is a   
   critical step in our plan to ensure we are operating as efficiently and   
   effectively as possible to become more competitive in a challenging   
   environment, and to accelerate the company's future growth," said Heinz   
   spokesman Michael Mullen.   
      
   Some other facilities will gain from the three closures. Heinz has three   
   plants in Canada – the Leamington ketchup factory, a salad dressing   
   plant in St. Marys, Ont., and a plant in Toronto. Mr. Mullen said   
   production will shift to St. Marys and U.S plants, where a total of 470   
   jobs will be added.   
      
   When that process is complete, Heinz will have 6,800 workers in Canada   
   and the United States.   
      
   Leamington Mayor John Paterson said he has known of the closure for more   
   than a week, but kept quiet about it until the official announcement was   
   made in the plant's cafeteria on Thursday afternoon. "Heartbreak" is how   
   he described the town's reaction to the shutdown.   
      
   "We're extremely concerned about the employees and their families," said   
   Mr. Paterson, who has friends at the plant and was once turned down for   
   a job there after graduating from college.   
      
   He said Heinz pays $1-million a year in property tax to the   
   municipality, in addition to being a huge buyer of water and   
   electricity. The other major employer in the town is Highline Mushrooms,   
   with 700 employees.   
      
   In addition to making ketchup, the Leamington plant makes HP Sauce, baby   
   food and Diana barbeque sauce with three daily shifts. Workers are paid   
   about $25 an hour.   
      
   "They've been here for 104 years. And in those 104 years there have been   
   so many families that made a good living from that firm. And they have   
   been super-excellent corporate citizens. So there I guess that's where   
   it will hurt us the most – they will no longer be around in that   
   aspect," Mr. Paterson said.   
      
   Rebecca Zlotnik, 36, has worked at the plant for 11 years and said she   
   will likely have to go back to school to find a way to support her four   
   children, ages 12 to 19. "It's not just the job, it's the benefits," she   
   said, adding there are few other work prospects in Leamington. "I think   
   we're all going to have to go out farther or we're all going fight to   
   serve a shake at McDonald's."   
      
   The Heinz announcement is one in a wave of recent plant closings in the   
   Canadian food-processing industry. Smucker's closed its Bick's Pickles   
   plant in Dunnville, Ont., and pickle tank farm near Delhi, Ont., last   
   year, wiping out 150 jobs.   
      
   Lance Canada Ltd.'s bakery in Cambridge, which employs 130 people, will   
   close in May, the company's North Carolina parent said. Canada Bread Co.   
   Ltd and Kraft Foods Group Inc. are expected to close plants in   
   Shawinigan, Que., and Oakville, Ont., respectively.   
      
   --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)