About 200 workers in St. Marys in southwestern Ontario will be out of work as Kraft Heinz announced a plan to close seven factories across Canada and the United States.

The move comes just months after consumer packaged foods giant Kraft and Heinz merged in July, in a deal engineered by Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway and Brazil’s 3G Capital.

The private-equity firm 3G Capital is known for slashing costs after an acquisition, as it did when it took Heinz private in 2013, as well as at Tim Hortons, which was taken over by Burger King in 2014.

Kraft Heinz is scheduled to report its third-quarter earnings results on Thursday.

Kraft Heinz spokesman Michael Mullen said that the company will close the seven plants over the next 12 to 24 months, shifting work to existing locations, eliminating 2,600 jobs in total.

“Our decision to consolidate manufacturing across the Kraft Heinz North American network is a critical step in our plan to eliminate excess capacity and reduce operational redundancies for the new combined company,” said Mullen in an emailed statement on Wednesday. “We have reached this difficult but necessary decision after thoroughly exploring extensive alternatives and options,” he said.

In St. Marys, Mayor Al Strathdee said the news was unexpected.

“I’ve had better days. We had no idea this was coming,” he said. “It’s a great loss to our community. We are in shock.”

Strathdee noted that the plant was started by Richardson Foods, and then later acquired by multinational Unifine, and eventually Heinz in 2004.

For a town of 6,800, Heinz was a big employer. Strathdee added he was surprised given the plant focused on specialty items including sauces, condiments and dessert toppings for fast-food chains as well as salad dressings under the Renée’s Gourmet label.

“It’s a compact plant, modern and clean. It’s a pretty amazing facility,” he said.

In New York, Governor Andrew Cuomo and U.S. Senator Chuck Schumer announced up to $25 million in taxpayer funds to help Heinz upgrade three plants in upstate New York. Under the deal, announced by the politicians, about 1,000 jobs would be protected for at least the next five years.

In 2013, shortly after Heinz was taken private by 3G Capital and Berkshire Hathway, the Pittsburgh-based company announced plans to close Heinz’s plant in Leamington, where ketchup was made, eliminating 740 jobs.

That plant was bought by Highbury Canco, which has a five-year contract to make products for Heinz.

The company makes tomato-based items including sauces and tomato juice.

“We continue to co-produce for Heinz,” said Pradeep Sood, director and shareholder of Highbury Canco, a privately held firm controlled by Toronto investors.

When Highbury Canco began operations the company employed about 250 people, said Sood. It now has 320 full-time staff.

Loading... Loading... Loading... Loading... Loading... Loading...

Equipment is being upgraded with plans to make vinegar in the new year, a product line that could create potentially 20 more jobs.

In August, Kraft Heinz had announced the elimination of 2,500 non-factory job including 700 positions at Kraft’s head office in Illinois. At the time, the company said there would be cuts to salaried jobs in Canada, but did not specify the number.