Large trucks have started the task of moving equipment from the Epiroc plant in North Bay to Montréal.
"The conversion of our North Bay plant into a distribution centre is going according to plan, as per our announcement in April," spokeswoman Julie Massé told BayToday.
"There are no changes to the numbers provided, both for layoffs and remaining employees."
The announcement of 65 layoffs in April means the once-proud facility that employed almost 100 workers just last year, and had over 130 at its peak, has been reduced to a dozen.
"Epiroc has a similar production capacity in Montréal," said Masse at the time.
"This difficult decision was based on an analysis of the two facilities including overall operations and future capacity."
The North Bay Epiroc facility will now be used to distribute ground support tooling, such as the Swellex rock bolting product line, across Canada and to store equipment, such as spare parts and components needed in the area.
"This decision reflects the challenging business climate that existed prior to the global pandemic, which now reinforces the need to increase efficiency and strengthen the company for the future," Epiroc said a news release.
The company manufactures drill rigs, rock excavation and construction equipment and tools for the mining and construction industries.
– BayToday.ca
