Connors Bros. to lay off 20 per cent of employees at Blacks Harbour, N.B., plant

Connors Bros. Clover Leaf Seafoods, arguably the most important employer in Blacks Harbour, N.B., for more than 130 years, is laying off 20 per cent of the positions at its plant in the coastal community. The plant employs upwards of 450 individuals in peak season.

In a statement, the company says the cuts were made due to Fisheries and Oceans Canada’s (DFO) decision in July to reduce the allowable amount of catchable herring in the Bay of Fundy by 24 per cent. The new catch limits will be in place for the next four years.

“We’ve been operating in this community for over 130 years, and this is a heartbreaking decision but it’s necessary to keep our plant viable moving forward,” Connors Bros. general manager Chad Baum says in the release. “We were surprised and disappointed by the DFO’s decision to slash the quota by so much and by the unprecedented four-year directive.”

Baum says the company, along with others in the industry, will continue to lobby for a re-evaluation of the quota recommendations.

Impacted employees were handed a six-week notice on Thursday. During that time, the company says it will do what it can to help those affected. Once the six-week period ends, Connors Bros will continue to operate the plant with a reduced workforce.

The population of Blacks Harbour is around 900, with many of its locals working in the plant. The layoffs are estimated to impact anywhere from 100-to-150 employees.

Local MLA Andrea Anderson Mason says the news is devastating for the people of Blacks Harbour.

“A number of 100-to-150 jobs loss may not seem like much to many people, but when you are a community of 900, that’s like the equivalent to a CN railyard closure,” says Anderson-Mason. “Behind every number there is a face, there is a family, and there is no one in this community that has not been affected by the loss that we have here today.”

In a statement sent to CTV Atlantic, Post-Secondary Education, Training, and Labour Minister Greg Turner calls the news sad and says he understands how impactful this will be on the people of Blacks Harbour.

“Our government is working closely with the company to support impacted workers,” says Turner. “An information session is planned in the short term to support all impacted employees with information on income support and prepare them to transition to other work. Details of this meeting will be directly communicated to the employees.”

Connors Bros. is a division of Clover Leaf Seafoods Corp., supplying canned sardines among other items that are sold in more than 40 different countries.

For more New Brunswick news, visit our dedicated provincial page.