250 jobs to go at Christchurch meat plant
The Press
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A Christchurch meat works is to shut with the loss of hundreds of jobs.
Dunedin-based Silver Fern Farms has proposed to close the sheep and lamb slaughter processing portion of its operation at the Canterbury processing plant near Christchurch.
The proposal to shut down the two slaughter chains was communicated to staff at the plant this morning, and would impact on a total of 225 processing and 24 administration and maintenance positions, SFF, previously known as PPCS, said.
SFF said there were approximately 70 redeployment opportunities at the Canterbury lamb cutting operation and the nearby Islington and Belfast plants.
The plant was also proposing to keep operating its boning room facilities.
Canterbury employs as many as 450 staff at peak of season.
SFF chief executive Keith Cooper said the closure of the slaughter operations was the final instalment of its Project Rightsize for 2008, a programme which was designed to align processing capacity with supply, enhance financial performance, and re-position the business as a true marketing organisation under the Silver Fern brand.
It reflects the overall decline in South Island sheep and lamb numbers, which are expected to drop by an estimated 2.2 million units next year, as conversions in traditional sheep and lamb farming areas to dairy and alternate land uses translate into lower stock units.
Cooper said SFF projections were broadly aligned with Meat and Wool Economic Service forecasts that signal an overall reduction in livestock over at least the next three years.
There were also specific issues that make the slaughter processing operation at Canterbury less tenable. These include the requirement for capital investment in effluent management systems, environmental upgrading, and limited development options compared to other key sites.
"The proximity to residential zoning also contributed to the decision,'' he said.
The processors boning room facilities would continue to operate as usual, as the company needed to retain its processing capability to meet increased demand for chilled product across the business, Cooper said.
Cooper said while no further closures are planned, all operations are subject to ongoing review based on site economics.
With this proposal, Silver Farm Farms would have reduced the number of full operating sites by six, with lamb capacity reduced by five chains.
Since February 2007 the company has reduced debt by $150 million.
"These decisive actions, coupled to the proposed partnership with PGG Wrightson and commitment of additional capital of $220 million, should now address the concerns Alliance had with a merger last year and create the opportunity for Alliance to recommence merger discussions,'' Cooper said.
"This can only benefit suppliers to the two co-operatives.''
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the only way to sort out this issue to get money back to the farmers is to make people go hungry and take out all the middle men who do nothing a make more money than the farmer. So to the Consumer, The Supermakets, The Trasport, The Board of SFF, Stock Agents of SFF and PGG and supplier to primary producers all of these jobs are on your head for being gready!!!
The merger with PGGW is just plain Stupid (Unless your Craig Norgate) The merger will give us $5 a lamb more If SFF kills 6million lambs and doesnt pay off 100Millon of debt and pays 16Mill interest we are $14 better off. PGGW gets 50% of the profit Farmer shareholders only get 50% of the profit if they supply.
The price is going up anyway and Craig is just bludging!!!
If they want 220Million and they have 9000 suppliers it is roughly $25000 each supplier but quote SFF "the average farmer will have to contribute $75,000"
Is it rational to borrow more to pay some debt off and spend even more?
PGGW will have total control is less than three years. As they are going to do the procurement than there agent will say youll get a better price at the sale yards ( in which you might) then there agents will buy the lambs and send them on contract to SFF becoming a rebate supplier. Them they will have Voting Rights and put there own self interested directors on the board and have unlimited control with suppliers losing out!!
The closing of the plant in Factory Rd was expected 10 years ago when I moved to Chch, because of location; so was surely inevitable in this restructure. Hard on the older workers, with a possible commute to the labour starved Fairton Plant, but for younger ones with the huge number of jobs in Christchurch is a oportunity for finding more satisfying work than a meat plant.
PPCS is the factory road plant. Canterbury (as it was formerly called) is the one that is losing all the jobs
This is the plant on Belfast Road (Canterbury Works). The plant across Factory Road (Belfast Works) processes cattle. The current closures in the meat industry are indicative of a highly labour dependant process; in contrast to the largely automated dairy process. Automated processes used in the car, textile, paper and many other industries have largely not been researched and adapted by the slow moving meat companies. The science is there if the money is there to invest.
i know what u guys are going thru i was made redundant from the dannevirke oringi site a couple of months ago it sux hell we are only a number not a person
It is Belfast Road (Lamb side) Factory Road is Beef I think. My Dad works at the Belfast Road side and he was going to the meeting....
I actually feel for all those people that have lost there jobs. And its not like there are heaps of jobs going on at the moment. What about there family, bills and those sorts of things. This is wrong. Everyone will be moving to Australia. There has been thousands that have moved there but soon will be everyone!!!!! Better pay and less tax over there. I think i might move!!
Does anyone know, is it the plant that goes over Factory Road or is it the one in Belfast Road?
The farming Community cannot be blamed for exiting the sheep industry which has always been very fickle in nature since the mid 1960 era. Apart from the people involved in ultra fine Merino Wool the meat production farming community can barely survive. This will be exacerbated by the Government and Green Party Climate change legislation. When you purchase lamb at the Supermarket in New Zealand the price charged conveys to me the farmer producer is missing out big time at our expense. There is something fundamentally wrong in N.Z. where the retail price of lamb post the farm is overpriced by a large margin.The folk carrying that cost are the meatworkers jobs.
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get on the plane to Australia. thats is what i did!! now my family can now live a lifestyle that they deserve. We work hard but rep the benifits. plus petrol is only $1.50per litre.