Drug company moving Halifax centre to Moncton

McKesson Canada is moving its Halifax distribution centre to Moncton next month, citing that city’s more centralized location as an advantage.The Montreal-based national pharmaceutical company now has three distribution centres in Atlantic Canada — St. John’s, N.L., Moncton and its facility in Lakeside Industrial Park, just west of downtown Halifax.However, the company will consolidate its Moncton and Halifax centres and move them into a new 167,000-square-feet facility in Moncton’s Caledonia Industrial Park on Jan. 29.The company’s Atlantic Canada regional office, also at the Lakeside location, will be moving to Moncton as well.The consolidation was a “business decision,” company spokesman David Bone said via an email from Montreal.“Our Moncton distribution centre was no longer able to meet our needs in terms of space.”The decision to consolidate was made “after a thorough review of all possibilities, including availability of suitable properties, and taking into account our operational needs,” he added.“This will enable us to service our customers in a more efficient manner while meeting evolving operating compliance measures. We believe it will be more efficient to serve our customers in the Maritimes from a single distribution centre, and based on our review of all possibilities, Moncton appeared to be a convenient central location in the context of our current and future business initiatives.”Bone said that activities at the Halifax distribution centre will be transferred in stages to “ensure a smooth transition.” Offices will be transferred at the end of January 2012; the warehouse will be transferred at end of February 2012.The move will affect about 50 people who work at the Halifax centre. Some positions will be transferred to Moncton, but Bone did not have an exact number of people.“We are committed to treating each impacted employee with great consideration, in accordance with our shared principles of respect and fairness, and we will work closely with them throughout this transition.”