Cargill to Shut Quebec Beef Plant Temporarily Due to Coronavirus Outbreak

The Canadian arm of U.S. agribusiness Cargill said on Sunday it would soon temporarily shut a meat-processing plant in the province of Quebec after 64 workers tested positive for the coronavirus

Reuters

The plant is in Chambly, a suburb of Montreal, one of the worst hit cities in Canada. Cargill said it was winding down production and hoped the facility would be fully closed by the middle of the week so all employees could be tested.

According to the United Food and Commercial Workers Union, many workers are already isolating due to Coronavirus related sickness, or close contact with employees who have tested positive.

“We are concerned about the number of cases in the community and among our employees”

 

“We are concerned about the number of cases in the community and among our employees. We currently have 64 cases, which is 13 percent of our local workforce,” company spokesman Daniel Sullivan said in an email.

Cargill said in late April it would start to reopen its beef processing plant in High River, Alberta in early May after it was forced to close down because hundreds of workers had become infected with the coronavirus. The plant represents about 36% of Canada’s total beef processing capacity.

Cargill has pledged to compensate it’s employees with up to 36 hours of paid leave per week.

Full plant shutdown is expected to happen by Wednesday of this week.