Maple Leaf Foods looks to hire hundreds of employees for new state-of-the-art poultry plant

Maple Leaf Foods has completed construction on a new London, Ont. poultry processing plant and is now working on recruiting 600 new employees. 

Spanning 660,000 square feet, or 11 football fields, the new plant consolidates production from three other Maple Leaf facilities in St. Mary's, Brampton and Toronto. Previous employees from those plants have been offered opportunities to transfer. The London location will employ a total of about 1,600 people once it is fully operational at the end of 2023. 

"As we get closer to commercial production, we know we are well on our way toward realizing the benefits and returns on this $772 million strategic investment," said Maple Leaf CEO Michael McCain in a statement. 

Located on Wilton Grove Road south of the 401, the plant is expected to produce about 100 million kilograms of packaged chicken a year for the retail and food service sectors. 

"This landmark investment in one of the largest, most technologically advanced poultry processing facilities in the world is yet another example of how Maple Leaf Foods is strategically positioned to serve growing markets, while remaining true to its sustainability commitments," said McCain. 

The plant's design was based on tours of more than 25 plants around the world, said Ben Brooks, senior vice president of poultry for Maple Leaf Foods. The outcome is a layout geared around its workers, and includes a prayer room for members of the Muslim community. 

"It's sort of the day in the life of people as they come to work and have breaks and lunch and so forth, kind of how they move through the plant," said Brooks. "It's a very thoughtful design." 

Openings in almost all positions

Maple Leaf Foods is hiring staff for the plant in phases, Brooks said. It aims to hire the first 600 by Christmas. Recruitment efforts are in full swing, with an estimated 300 coming from previous plants. 

Almost all positions are up for grabs, from human resources to the production line.    

"We have everything from skilled trades, mechanics and millwrights and so forth, to food safety and quality individuals and then production employees in a safe environment and basically making food for Canadians," said Brooks. "It's a really rich work environment." 

Maple Leaf Foods' next in-person community career fair is being held on Oct. 29 from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. at RBC Place, 300 York St., in London. Applications can also be submitted on the company's website.