HyLife is working to help 87 employees deal with losing their jobs due to lay-offs, and approximately 50 of them are in Steinbach.
The company points to challenges in the industry as the reason for reducing their workforce by around 3.5 percent.
President and CEO Grant Lazaruk says, for the past few years, they have been dealing with inflation, rising production costs, including feed and fuel, the uncertainty in hog and pork markets, and foreign exchange rates.
“Over the last several months, these difficulties have become increasingly pressing and have created a situation where we need to be more efficient,” he says. “We are carefully restructuring to endure the current global conditions.”
The majority are jobs cut were administrative, reports HyLife, with minimal impact on their production, and range from director level to term employees supporting Canadian operations.
“These are roles and people we value- no decision has been easy,” Lazaruk says. “We want to sincerely thank the team members who are departing. We know that long term, these incredibly hard choices will reposition and return our business to a place of strength and stability.”
He notes HyLife will support the employees who are leaving, by offering proper severance packages and offering employment resources.
The company reports taking several cost savings steps, including the sale of non-core assets, and plans not to fill some job vacancies.
HyLife has 2,500 employees and produces 3.4 million hogs annually.
Lazaruk is optimistic about the future of the hog industry, and when asked if they anticipate more layoffs in the future, he was quick to say, “No.”