MONTREAL (AP) -- Footwear maker Crocs Inc. has shut down part of its Quebec City plant earlier than expected, throwing 350 people out of work.
The closure as of this Wednesday follows the company's announcement on Monday it would shut it doors in July.
Crocs will immediately shift production of its colorful foam clogs to Mexico, but for the moment 150 people will continue to manufacture tricycle wheels and kayak benches for Crocs in Quebec City, according to Teamsters union spokesperson Stephane Lacroix.
Crocs said it will slowly shut down the rest of the factory by July, but will keep open its sales and marketing office and retail store in the city.
The Teamsters union was not ready to concede the plant will shut its doors for good. The union will meet with Crocs management April 22, according to Lacroix.
Sam Hamad, Quebec's employment minister, said the priority is to create new jobs for those let go.
''We need to help them as quickly as possible,'' Hamad said Thursday after visiting the plant.
The facility was opened by Foam Creations, a Quebec-based company, in 2001. Foam Creations helped develop the comfortable, odorless foam that made Crocs footwear popular. Crocs bought Foam Creations in 2004.
Crocs will be able to meet its North American needs through a flexible manufacturing operation in Mexico, chief executive Ron Snyder said earlier this week.
He said it makes sense to consolidate all manufacturing in North America in a lower-cost factory capable of producing both sewn and molded products as well as compounding its own raw materials.
