Here is a review of the companies where jobs were created and others were lost in November 2018.
HIRINGS
Coveo, a Quebec-based artificial intelligence company, will expand its Montreal office to accommodate an additional 300 employees by 2020. Many high-tech jobs will be created, including developers and data scientists .
Still in the world of artificial intelligence, IT giant IBM has decided to expand the mission of its Customer Innovation Center in Montreal and plans to create 100 “high-level” jobs as of 2019. These jobs will focus primarily on artificial intelligence and the Salesforce platform.
Pixomondo, the visual effects studio that produced the Game of Thrones series, will open an antenna in Montreal: 180 specialized jobs will be created over the next three years. The company, founded in Germany in 2001, intends to take advantage of the city’s pool of creative and technological talent. The Montréal office will become an innovation center dedicated to virtual reality and artificial intelligence.
Desjardins is investing $ 25 million in Shawinigan, Mauricie to create an IT office. By 2019, this office should create 30 jobs, a number expected to grow over the next five years.
Emerald Plants Health Source wants to build a large cannabis plant in the city of Merritt, British Columbia. If the project goes ahead, the company could build a 3,000 square foot plant in 2019, and create 200 jobs in the area.
LAYOFFS
The announcement provoked a shock wave: to replenish its coffers, Bombardier will abolish 5,000 jobs worldwide, including 2,500 in Quebec and 500 in Ontario. In the process, the aircraft manufacturer has also confirmed the sale of certain “non-strategic” assets: its Q Series program will be handed over to aircraft manufacturer Longview Aircraft, and its pilot and technician training activities will be sold to CAE.
The Quebec company Sico’s decision to leave the province within a year by transferring its activities to Ontario prompted Quebec Premier François Legault to suggest that Quebecers boycott the famous paint brand. The closure of the Sico de Beauport plant and its Montreal distribution center will result in the loss of approximately 125 jobs.
Another Quebec company disappears from the landscape: In a garden declared bankruptcy after 35 years of existence. The imminent closure of 55 stores and its Boucherville manufacturing unit could result in the loss of more than 250 jobs.
Lowe’s, the new owner of RONA hardware stores, consolidated by closing 27 stores deemed “underperforming”, including 9 RONA stores in Quebec. Two plants in St. John’s and Kamloops will also be closed. The company did not specify the number of jobs that would be eliminated, but we know that in Quebec, 60 jobs will be lost.
The media crisis is still talking about it. This month, La Presse announced the abolition of 37 posts, including 19 in the editorial office. The press employs about 500 people.