Workers come together for last call at Schneiders Kitchener plant

Workers at the Schneiders plant in Kitchener came together Friday to collect belongings, share a final lunch, and say goodbye as production shifts ended this week.

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"Everyone would get a little emotional and stuff like that, but we're gonna move on, we have to be strong and keep going," said Manuel Roche, who spent six years working at the plant.

Maple Leaf Foods began closing the Kitchener plant on Labour Day of 2013 by shutting down its distribution centre and laying off 150 workers.

"Everybody was very friendly here, and the company looked after you, if you were sick at all or whatever, there was no issues," said Gary Beach, who put in 25 years at the plant.

The company says it will be moving all of its plant operations to a new facility in Hamilton, and that some workers from the Kitchener plant would be transferring over. In total, about 1,200 jobs were being cut as part of the closures.

The building itself will be going through a decommissioning process which is expected to take a few months, after which it will go up for sale.