Unilever Canada’s plan to shut down its manufacturing plan in Bramalea in 2016 is another sign of large international companies consolidating operations, experts say.

“It’s part of a general trend to consolidate North American and global plants to fewer locations, more integrated operations, and use of technology to create more efficient practices,” said Alan Middleton, a marketing professor at York University’s Schulich School of Business.

“Unfortunately, unless Canada has a substantial cost advantage or talent advantage, we’re going to be seeing more of this.”

Closure of the Unilever plant — which makes dry mix soups, sauces, sides and gravy under the Knorr and Lipton brands — will affect 280 salaried and hourly employees, the firm said in a statement released Thursday.

Executive members of Local 264 of the Bakery, Confectionary & Tobacco Workers International union, which represents Unilever workers at the plant, could not be reached for comment.

The decision to close the Bramalea plant came after a strategic review of the dry mix category in North America, the company said.

Most of the plant’s production is expected to finish in the fourth quarter of 2015, with the final closure expected in March, 2016.

“This decision was not easily made, and in no way reflects the dedication or performance of our colleagues at the Bramalea facility,” said John Le Boutillier, president and CEO, Unilever Canada, in the release.

Le Boutillier noted that during the review, “it became apparent that a large investment was needed in the dry mix supply chain in order for Unilever to continue to deliver the highest possible quality standards, customer service levels and future packaging innovations.

“As more than 80 per cent of the volume produced at Bramalea is shipped to the United States, Unilever made the strategic decision to make its investment closer to where the bulk of the product is consumed,” he said.

Production from Bramalea will be transferred to Unilever’s plant in Independence, Mo.

“The economies of scale argument are always strong,” said Fraser Johnson, professor of operations management at the Ivey School of Business at the University of Western Ontario.

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“Closing the Bramalea plant is extremely difficult for the employees and for the local community. However Unilever Canada is making significant investments in Canadian facilities which manufacture ice cream, margarine and mayonnaise products,” Le Boutillier added.

Those investments include upgrades and enhancements at company plants in Simcoe and Rexdale.

Unilever produces food, home and personal care products, selling everything from popsicles to Q-Tips in more than 190 countries. In Canada, the Unilever portfolio includes Axe, Becel, Ben & Jerry’s, Breyers, Dove, Hellmann’s, Klondike, St. Ives, TRESemmé, and Vaseline.

Unilever is “competing in a global industry with global brands and it has to be globally cost competitive,” Johnson added. “Organizations don’t tend to make these decisions on a whim.”

“Moving production from Canada means that instead of two plants with two managers and payroll departments and all the overhead that goes along with that, you consolidate production into one facility.”

In 2010, Unilever Canada shut down its soups manufacturing plan in Peterborough, Ont., shedding 40 jobs.

At the time, the food company employed about 1,800 people across Canada.

More recently, Ontario has suffered a string of high-profile plant closures, including a Kellogg cereal plan in London, a CCL Industries aerosol plant in Penetanguishene, and a Novartis AG contact lens solution plant in Mississauga. The expected closure of the Heinz ketchup plant in Leamington was averted by a last-minute deal.

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