Luxottica closes its Winnipeg manufacturing plant

Tuesday, June 3 2014 | 00 h 00 min | News

Luxottica North America recently announced it is shutting down its Winnipeg plant, which made lenses for LensCrafters, Pearle Vision and Sears. Over 200 people will be out of work.

The Winnipeg plant, located at the corner of St. James Street and Sargent Avenue, was the Italian company’s only Canadian manufacturing location. That work will now be shifted to a distribution facility in Toronto and US facilities.

Manitoba premier Greg Selinger said he was surprised by the news. “We were not given any warning,” he said. “It came as a surprise. Clearly we’re concerned about people losing their jobs.”

In a brief statement sent to the CBC, Luxottica states that the closure is intended to “drive efficiency and maximize resources across its manufacturing network.” At the same time, Luxottica announced a separate decision to significantly reduce the staffing levels in its Cincinnati facilities.

Luxottica hired a consultant to provide former employees with support services during the transition period.

Source:

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/manitoba/luxottica-shuts-down-winnipeg-manufacturing-plant-1.2656853