While Quebec wants to “reduce the number of foreign workers,” Olymel says it cannot do without its 1,500 temporary foreign workers (TETs), who over the years have become team leaders, foremen and supervisors in the organization.
“They have really risen in the organization. “It's a nice welcome for new people who see this and say to themselves that there is potential,” explains Yanick Gervais, CEO of Olymel, in an interview with the Journal, which reported stable sales of 4.7 billion US dollars on Thursday -dollars, compared to $4.6 billion the previous year.
Without them, “we certainly wouldn’t be in the same place at all,” he adds. “We will be dependent on foreign workers in the future,” he emphasizes.
Last Monday, Labor Minister Kateri Champagne Jourdain announced in an interview with the Journal her intention to “reduce the number of foreign workers” by finding other ways to increase productivity.
“No difference”
Three days later, Olymel's No. 1 extolled the virtues of the temporary foreign worker program.
“A foreign worker who is very well integrated into his environment makes no difference to us,” says Yanick Gervais, head of Olymel.
“The nice thing about our factories is that we're local, so they're not people coming here to stay near Montreal,” he continues.
Provided by Olymel
Yamachiche, Saint-Esprit, Berthierville… Yanick Gervais confirms that almost all foreign workers who can go elsewhere after their two-year residence permit choose to stay at Olymel.
“It’s becoming increasingly difficult to find people who want to do a little more manual work,” he says.
In addition, after the dark year of 2023 with 1,500 layoffs, notably 994 at the Vallée-Jonction plant, the CEO of Olymel assumes that he will not have to make further layoffs of this magnitude this year.
Paul Beauchamp, 1st Vice President of Olymel, Yanick Gervais, CEO and Louis Banville, Vice President, Human Resources. Photo Francis Halin
“Are mega layoff announcements of 900 people to be expected? “There are none,” he swears.
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