General Mills bracing for cuts

Employees at General Mills Inc.’s Canadian factories will be watching closely as the company executes a North America-wide cost-cutting plan to address falling sales.

The food giant, whose brands include Cheerios, Betty Crocker, Yoplait and Pillsbury, announced the plan to save $40 million this year along with its quarterly earnings report Wednesday. Shares fell 3.6 per cent to $51.76 as fourth-quarter earnings missed estimates.

Jeff Traeger, president of the United Food and Commercial Workers Local 832 representing 77 General Mills workers in Winnipeg, is just about to enter bargaining with the company. He said General Mills generally brings up the plant’s competitiveness with the U.S. and the value of the Canadian dollar during bargaining, but has never brought up drastic job cuts or shutting the plant down.

“I don’t have any idea, those measures, how they’re going to impact the Manitoba operation,” Traeger said.

“Instead of talking from the view from 30,000 feet about how they’re going to be changing the entire company, when they get down to brass tacks, then, I guess, we’ll find out the impact they’ll have.”

The Winnipeg factory makes Pillsbury Pizza Pops. General Mills also has facilities in Quebec, Alberta and Midland, Ontario, with the Midland facility manufacturing products such as refrigerated dough.

But consumers are increasingly interested in food made from fresh, whole ingredients, said Dave Palmer, an analyst with RBC Capital Markets who covers General Mills.