Seven percent of the farm equipment manufacturer’s workforce has received layoff notices, according to a company news release. https://www.bourgault.com/News/tabid/146/language/en-US/Default.aspx

Bourgault says the layoffs will take effect by the end of the year, unless market conditions improve substantially.

The company is based in St. Brieux, about 170 kilometres northeast of Saskatoon. It manufactures a variety of products, including air seeders, air drills and tillage equipment.

Bourgault blames a variety of factors that are impacting both domestic and international markets. They include:

-drought in Western Canada, Northern U.S. Plains, Australia and parts of Eastern Europe.

-massive steel price increases due to tariffs and duties.

-lower commodity prices for lentils, canola and durum compared to one year ago.

-a wet fall that reduced crop quality for cereal grains

The news release did not indicate how many people work at Bourgault Industries.

(above picture: Bourgault Industries/Facebook)