Napoleon cutting 80 jobs in Ontario as pandemic demand cools

After hiring dozens of workers to ramp up production during the COVID-19 pandemic, North America’s largest privately-owned manufacturer of fireplaces, grills, and gas furnaces is trimming its headcount in Ontario.

Napoleon announced that it’s laying off 80 full-time associates from its Barrie locations.

“Through the pandemic, we’ve had to recently ramp up a significant amount of production and our employee staff to meet the significant demands of products we manufacture here in Barrie,” Napoleon president Mike Tzimas told CTV News.

“Like any seasonal business, we’re just on the other side of that, and recently over the past week, we’ve had to, unfortunately, continue with our seasonal adjustments, and we’ve rebalanced our production lines and schedules.”

The reduction comes after Napoleon held a job fair to fill 100 positions on its Barrie assembly line last year.

The company reportedly employs a workforce of more than 1,300 people, including assembly line workers.

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Termination agreements for Napoleon employees

In Canada, non-unionized employees and senior executives at Napoleon are owed full severance pay when they lose their jobs due to downsizing or corporate restructuring.

Severance in Ontario can be as much as 24 months’ pay, depending on a number of factors.

LEARN MORE
• Mass layoffs in Ontario: Rights to severance
• Severance for provincially regulated employees
• Employment lawyer on worker rights in the event of a layoff

WATCH: Employment lawyer Lior Samfiru explains what rights employees have if they are being fired or let go on an episode of the Employment Law Show.

Before you accept any severance offer, have an experienced employment law team at Samfiru Tumarkin LLP review it and your employment contract.

We can tell you if what you have been provided is fair and how to get proper compensation if it falls short of what you are actually owed.

If you aren’t given the full amount, which happens often, you have been wrongfully dismissed and are entitled to compensation.