Here is a summary of the companies where jobs were created and others were lost during the month of February 2019.
HIRINGS
In anticipation of spring, the high season for renovation projects, The Home Depot retailer is actively seeking to staff more than 5,500 associate positions across most of its branches across Canada.
BlackBerry, the former darling of smart phones, is planning ambitious projects. The Canadian giant will invest more than $ 800 million to develop software for autonomous cars. This vast project is expected to create 800 new jobs over the next 10 years.
Big news for the manufacturing industry: the popular manufacturer of coats Canada Goose will open in the coming weeks its second Quebec factory, in the Ahuntsic-Cartierville borough in Montreal. Covering more than 10,000 square feet, this plant is expected to employ 650 people by the end of 2020.
In Saint-Eustache, the imminent opening of a new cannabis production plant will create 140 new jobs in the medium term. When all phases of the project are completed, the Verdélite plant will produce more than 50,000 kg of “pot” annually.
Gorilla Group, an e-commerce solutions provider in Chicago, plans to double the number of employees at its Montreal subsidiary by hiring 70 people.
DISMISSALS
The “surprise” closure of the company Téo Taxi, launched by the former Dragon Alexandre Taillefer, will have made a lot of talk at the beginning of February. Unable to achieve profitability despite the millions invested in the business, the company’s executives finally made the decision to “pull the plug” from the first electric taxi service. 450 drivers were thanked.
In Bécancour, Mauricie, the temporary closure of the Sural stem plant results in the layoff of about 60 workers. This is another blow for a region still weakened by the closure of the Bécancour nuclear power plant in 2012.
Specializing in the production of livestock feed, Trouw Nutrition Canada will close its Yamachiche mill in 2019. About 50 workers will lose their jobs. However, the company specifies that the interested workers will be able to apply in the other installations of the company, in particular in Saint-Hyacinthe.
The transfer of a portion of its production to its Mexican plant has resulted in the loss of some fifteen jobs at Gecko Alliance, a Quebec-based company specializing in the design, production and marketing of accessories for spas.
Once again, the media sector lost more soldiers in February. The Vice Media group has eliminated 250 jobs, or 10% of its workforce. No details were given regarding the employees of Vice Quebec. The Canadian Press has also announced cuts this month: 6 in the Atlantic. This is the “fourth round of PC layoffs since the spring of 2018.” Ricardo Media has announced the end of the publication of its English-language magazine; three employees will lose their jobs.