Maple Leaf Foods plans to build a sprawling poultry-processing plant in London that the company says will be one of the most technically advanced in the world.
The pricetag for the project is $660 million with the governments of Ontario and Canada chipping in $34.5 million and $20 million respectively.
Premier Doug Ford and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau are expected in London Tuesday morning for a celebratory event.
While Maple Leaf invests big in London, the company will close plants in Toronto, Brampton and St. Marys and consolidate their work in the new build.
"Each of these plants is 50 to 60 years old, with location, footprint and infrastructure constraints that limit opportunities to expand and modernize to meet growing market demand," Maple Leaf says in a statement.
The company vows to work with locals communities and governments to find new uses for the plants when they close. The St. Marys facility is slated to shut down by late 2021 with plants in Toronto and Brampton going dark by mid to late 2022.
Maple Leaf Foods Inc.
Maple Leaf says construction of the new London facility will mean 300 jobs starting this spring.
The company expects the new plant to boast 1,450 full and part-time jobs when it opens in the second quarter of 2021.