Weston Bakeries had threatened to close the a Quebec plant unless workers accepted its final contract offer. (CBC)

Weston Bakeries Ltd. followed through on its threat to close its plant in Longueuil, Que., on Friday.

The plant’s activities will be gradually reduced before the bakery is completely shuttered on Dec. 31, the company said in a statement.

The move came Friday morning after the 150 employees at the bakery rejected the company’s final contract offer with a vote of 68 per cent.

For the past two weeks, the company had been threatening to close the factory should the workers reject its final offer, warning that it had to reduce its production costs to stay competitive.

After several months of negotiations, the company said it was not possible to reach a settlement to renew the collective agreement.

"Our preference was to conduct an in-depth evaluation of the Longueuil operations and take the necessary corrective measures to attain a satisfactory reliability level — one that would compare with the other plants of the company," said Sylvain Roussel, Weston Quebec's vice-president of human resources.

"Status quo was not an acceptable option. In addition, rigid work schedules at Longueuil prevented Weston from meeting the delivery requirements of its customers. With the future of the plant at stake, we have been transparent in exposing and discussing the issues with union representatives," Roussel said.

Production at the Longueuil bakery will be transferred to other Weston facilities in Quebec, the company said.

The company’s decision is "surreal and like a nightmare," said François Vaudreuil, president of the Centrale des syndicats démocratiques, the union which represents the workers.

Vaudreuil called the decision "socially irresponsible," accusing the company of treating its employees with "contempt."

Vaudreuil said he would contact company president Galen Weston in hopes of convincing him to reverse the decision.