Many Heinz workers still finding way forward 1 year after Leamington closure

A year after the H.J. Heinz Co. pulled its business from Leamington, many of its former workers are still in the process of moving on with their lives.

The company had operated a plant there for more than a century at the time that it left Leamington last June. More than 700 people lost their jobs when that decision was made.

Joe Elias was among those left in need of new employment.

The 51-year-old had worked for Heinz for nearly a decade when his job came to an end.

Twelve months later, he's still unemployed and looking to start over.

"We had basically a middle-class wage and we were able to live comfortably, in not necessarily luxury, but we were comfortable," he told CBC News in an interview.

"To find something that paid that kind of money with these benefits, it's very hard in this area right now."

The UFCW set up an action centre to help the displaced workers chart a new path forward.

Helene Caine, a co-ordinator at the action centre, has been working with hundreds of former Heinz workers like Elias, who have been forced to find a new way of making a living.

"I was shocked. I never thought that Heinz was going to close," Caine told CBC News in an interview this week.

Caine said the action centre has help 300 people move on, find employment, obtain training or education.

While these workers have dealt with challenges in figuring out what they will do next, Caine said they have also faced challenges in their personal lives.

Some lost their homes, or vehicles. Caine said that some have ended up separated from their spouses.

Friendships have suffered, too.

Mark Stasso, who was a union rep at Heinz, said there was a lot of finger-pointing at the union, even though they tried to convince the company to stay.

"We were willing to do anything to keep it open," he said.

Highbury Canco purchased the Heinz plant after it closed and has since been packaging some products for Heinz.

But there are fewer jobs available, leaving workers like Elias still in search of work.

"The action centre has made it clear that there are a lot of options out there and doggone it, I'm going to find one that works for me," Elias said.