Saputo Inc., Montreal, announced on March 14 that it will close its cheese manufacturing facility in Warwick, Quebec, Canada, in June 2014. The move is aimed at improving the cheesemaker's operational efficiency.

Production will be integrated into other facilities in the province of Quebec. In all, approximately 100 employees will be impacted. In some cases, employees will be offered the possibility of transferring to another plant within the Dairy Products Division (Canada).

Over the last year, Saputo has maintained efforts to pursue additional efficiencies and decrease costs while strengthening its market presence. In November 2012, the Company informed its 40 employees at the Winkler, Manitoba, Canada facility of the plant's scheduled closure in January 2014.

In February, the company closed its cheese manufacturing plant in Heiden (Germany) and proposed the closure of its facility in Newcastle Emlyn, Wales. See "Saputo closes German plant; mulls over plant closure in Wales." http://www.dairyfoods.com/articles/89301-saputo-closes-german-plant-mulls-over-plant-closure-in-wales

Saputo ranks third on the Dairy 100, Dairy Foods' annual ranking of North America's largest dairy processors. Saputo is the largest Canadian-based processor on the list.