The majority of the cuts will be in the United States at the operations of New Jersey-based arts and crafts company Rose Art, which Mega Bloks bought last July in a $355 million US deal.
Mega Bloks said 350 of the job cuts will be at manufacturing and distribution centres in Woodridge, N.J., Eugene, Ore., and Lafayette, Ind.
The company said its Canadian distribution will be consolidated in Montreal, resulting in 35 job cuts at its distribution centre in Lachine, Que.
Manufacturing will be shifted to the Rose Art plant in Shenzen, China and to the existing Mega Bloks network of Chinese suppliers.
North American distribution of all products manufactured in China will be shifted in a new facility in Tacoma, Wash., resulting in the creation of approximately 75 new jobs.
Mega Bloks said it plans to cut its costs by about $7 million to $10 million.
Mega Bloks makes building block toy sets. Rose Art makes arts and crafts supplies, bead products and crayons.
In November 2005, Mega Bloks reported a $20.4 million US profit for third quarter on net sales of $163.5 million US. In the same quarter a year earlier, the company made $14.1 million US on net sales of $85.9 million US.
Shares of Mega Bloks were up 15 cents at $27.94 on the TSX.
