WATERBURY, Vt., US – Green Mountain Coffee Roasters, Inc., a leader in specialty coffee and coffee makers with its innovative Keurig® brewing technology, today announced it would consolidate all of its Canadian coffee and portion pack production to its Montreal, Quebec facility.
The Company expects to cease production at its Toronto, Ontario facility by March 5, 2014 affecting a total of 120 production and production support employees, or approximately 2% of its total workforce, whose positions will be eliminated.
“As we continue to grow, we also are assessing the effectiveness of our manufacturing, distribution, and logistics network across our U.S. and Canadian locations,” said Brian P. Kelley, President and CEO of Green Mountain Coffee Roasters. “We have expanded the footprint of our Montreal facility more than 40% this fiscal year.
After careful analysis of facility-specific operational costs and the Toronto facility’s inability to expand to accommodate future growth, it was clear that consolidating our Canadian-based production to our Montreal facility is the right business decision to support our strong and growing presence in Canada.
We recognize the impact that this action has on our employees and their families and intend to support them through the transition process.”
Green Mountain Coffee Roasters will support affected employees through the transition process by offering outplacement services.
GMCR expects a one-time pre-tax charge related to this action in its fourth quarter fiscal year 2013. The Company expects the impact of the charge will be immaterial to its fiscal year 2013 results and did not update its previously issued financial outlook.
Following closure of the Toronto facility, GMCR will manufacture all of the licensed, Keurig Brewed® K-Cup® and Vue® packs for use in its Keurig® brewers in eight facilities in the US and Canada: Castroville, California; Knoxville, Tennessee; Windsor, Virginia; Essex, Waterbury and Williston, Vermont; Sumner, Washington; and Montreal, Quebec.
In addition, the Company has offices and conducts research and development for its beverages and its Keurig® Single Cup systems in Waterbury, Vermont and Burlington, Reading and Wakefield, Massachusetts with a small team operating in Asia.
As of June 29, 2013, Green Mountain Coffee Roasters employed approximately 6,250 regular and temporary employees globally.
