Nearly 500 local jobs will be lost within three years after Procter and Gamble announced Wednesday it will close its Brockville operations as early as 2020.

Employees of the Brockville site were informed at a meeting early Wednesday of the decision attributed to what P&G described as a "North American Supply Network Design" that will relocate remaining local production of Bounce and Swiffer products to a new site in West Virginia.

The transitions are planned to be complete by early 2020 and will result in the permanent closure of the Brockville site by late 2020 or early 2021, the company said in a statement. The city plant employs 480 people.

“It’s a devastating announcement,” said Leeds-Grenville MPP Steve Clark, who plans to coordinate with other levels of government “to explore every possibility of reversing the company’s regrettable decision to close a profitable plant.”

The statement said P&G has been studying its North American supply network for several years to find opportunities to "leverage scale in conjunction with our supply chain partners. In the study, many options were explored, analyzed and discussed.

"While this was a difficult decision for the company, the overall redesign efforts will help P&G transform the way it goes to market and revolutionize the way it sources, manufactures and produces across North America," the statement read.

Jeff LeRoy, a P&G company communications spokesperson, said the decision to close production in Brockville was "difficult" and is not a reflection of the city or the employees of the site. He said the company will try to accommodate local employees who are willing to relocate.

"Again, it’s important to recognize this announcement is three to four years in advance," said LeRoy. "We are working hard so that we can find another position for as many employees as possible within P&G if they are willing to re-locate.

"There are no guarantees and we can make no promises, but this is the goal we have," he said, adding the company is "exploring many options," including employee transfers to a P&G facility in Belleville which is anticipated to have opportunities available in coming years.

LeRoy said the company made the decision to close the plant “a couple of months” ago, then took the time to implement it and announce it to its employees.

Several employees approached on Wednesday by a Recorder and Times reporter at the city plant refused comment on the closure. LeRoy explained afterwards the company has instituted a general policy that employees aren’t allowed to speak with the media.

P&G has been an important part of the City for almost 40 years https://t.co/5lrdjlTCnU @ProcterGamble pic.twitter.com/o99B8avxrm — City of Brockville (@BrockvilleON) May 24, 2017

For Brockville mayor David Henderson, the news is a blow that was not entirely unexpected.

"Everybody has been on the edge of their seats for some time, waiting for that West Virginia plant to be fully up and running," said the mayor.

"When it actually happens, it’s brutal."

Speculation has been rife in the community that Procter and Gamble’s days in Brockville might be numbered since March 2016, when the company announced it would relocate one of its Bounce converting lines from Brockville to the United States.

The move took up to 30 per cent of Brockville’s Bounce production away from the local plant. At the time, the company insisted it had no plans to close the city facility’s doors.

The news of the pending plant closure spread quickly across social media as employees were given the devastating news.

But while some were inclined to blame it on politics south of the border, Henderson stressed the city actually began worrying about Procter and Gamble years ago, when the West Virginia plant was announced.

The city now must focus on helping affected employees and looking ahead, added Henderson.

"It does hit us like a punch in the belly, but the challenge now is: What do you do?"

Pat Markovich, president of the Brockville and District Chamber of Commerce, while expressing sadness at the loss of so many jobs, struck an optimistic note on the chances for recovery, saying the city has a history of entrepreneurship.

"I have a great deal of faith in (their) resiliency," she said.