Accolade Wines to move SA jobs offshore — but won’t say how many

One of the biggest wine companies in the world will cut jobs from its South Australian operations and move them to offshore — but won’t say how many will go.

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Accolade Wines will not say how many roles will go from its South Australian operations as a result of an outsourcing program, but says a review of its “global businesses services” will start mid-month.

The company, which was bought by private equity firm The Carlyle Group for $1 billion last year, issued a statement to The Advertiser, when asked if a substantial number of jobs were being offshored to India, but did not provide a figure of how many jobs would go.

“While the final scope of the project is yet to be determined, it is anticipated that the project

may result in the transfer of some roles to external service providers,’’ the company said.

Accolade chief financial officer Mike Walsh confirmed some back-office functions would be outsourced.

“Some back-office functions could be better supported and optimised by partners with deep expertise and scale in those specific areas,’’ he said in a statement.

“We are acutely aware that this will be a time of uncertainty for some of Accolade Wines’

employees and we are determined to ensure that the transition is as smooth as possible and

to offer appropriate support to anyone impacted by the review.

“Our number-one priority is to ensure that our people are supported and treated respectfully throughout this process.”

Accolade owns wine brands including Hardys, Banrock Station, St Hallett and Petaluma.

It bills itself as “the number-one wine company in Australia and the UK by volume, and the fifth-largest wine company in the world’’.

“Drawing on a proud heritage with one of the first wineries established in Australia, and since treading its first grapes in 1853, Accolade Wines has evolved into a global wine company, producing some of the world’s best-known brands,’’ the website says.

“Headquartered in Australia, Accolade Wines delivers approximately 38 million cases to more than 140 countries annually; including Australia, the UK, Mainland Europe, the US, Canada, Japan, New Zealand and China.’’

The most recent financial report for Accolade Wines Holdings Australia shows the company made an operating profit of $1.59 million, on sales revenues of $572.8 million for 2017-18.

Once finance expenses and tax was factored in that dropped to a loss of $40.9 million.

The company said it “retains a strong presence in Adelaide and the greater South Australian region through its winery and vineyard assets and continues to create new jobs through targeted investments across the business.

“Accolade recently created more than 40 new jobs at Berri in the South Australian Riverland

through a $40 million investment in a new bottling plant and packaging facilities. Accolade

has also approved a $4 million investment to improve waste water treatment at Berri Estate

to enable it to be used for irrigation.’’

The review is expected to be completed by the end of 2019.

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