Aquaculture giant Marine Harvest is cutting up to 60 jobs around the Campbell River area to cut costs as a global product glut pushes down farmed salmon prices.
So far, 20 employees, mainly administrative staff in the company’s Vancouver Island base in Campbell River, were laid off, spokesman Ian Roberts said Monday.
Plans call for another 30 to 40 production staff to be cut, Roberts said. “That will take place over the next 12 months as we don’t stock certain farms. We are hoping and expecting that most of that is just through regular attrition.”
The company is hoping the situation is temporary. “We expect to be back to where we are today within two years, if the market does what it typically does. It is pretty cyclical,” Roberts said.