London’s largest food processor will lay off between 40 and 100 workers used to make chicken McNuggets as machines replace hand deboning the birds, sources say.

The layoffs at Cargill next year will be another blow to a London region marketing itself as a thriving place for food processing. Next year, Kellogg will shutter its city plant and Heinz will close its century-old facility in Leamington.

The loss of Kellogg and Heinz will rip 1,305 jobs from the regional economy and leave gaping holes in east London and Leamington.

But the head of London’s economic development corporation hopes jobs cut at Cargill will pave the way to future growth.

“Cargill is looking to make significant investment next year in automation, technology and equipment,” said Kapil Lakhotia, London Economic Development Corp.’s interim general manager.

Though machines replacing hands will mean job losses now, it will make the London plant on Cuddy Blvd. more productive and better positioned to compete for new and expanding product lines, he said.

Though the Cargill name may not resonate in London like Kellogg, the business has been around since 1950, operating mostly under local ownership of Mac Cuddy before being sold to the U.S.-based multinational in 2002. The Cargill plant employs 900 people who kill and process 80,000 to 90,000 chickens daily.

Company officials couldn’t be reached to comment.

But McDonald’s Canada provided an inside look at the plant in 2011 when it sent a Moms’ brigade to report on how chicken there is handled.

“There is no mechanically separated meat in McDonald’s products,” one Mom wrote.

Cargill employs about 142,000 people in 67 countries.

Ivey business school professor Mike Moffatt has cast doubt on London’s claim that it’s a growing centre for agri-business, saying the city has been losing its competitive edge being close to consumers as Americans move from northeast and Great Lakes cities to the U.S. southwest.

jonathan.sher@sunmedia.ca

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Job cuts served up so far

2014:Cargill expected to chop 40-100 jobs at London chicken processing plant.

Dec. 2013:Kellogg announces closing of 565-job London cereal plant.

Nov. 2013: Heinz shuts 740-job Leamington plant.

August 2012: E.D. Smith salad dressing plant near Seaforth shuts, idling 180.

April 2008: Campbell Soup closes 500-job Listowel plant.

March 2008: CanGro Foods shuts Exeter ­canning plant, 135 jobs lost.