Nestle’s Tongala factory closure blamed on cheap imports, drop in tinned milk sales

Nestle has announced the closure of a Victorian factory, devastating locals of the tiny rural town, which will lose 100 jobs — and one product is apparently to blame.

More than 100 jobs will be lost when Tongala’s Nestle factory shuts down.

A tiny town in Victoria’s north will lose more than 100 jobs as food production giant Nestle prepares to close its tinned milk factory.

Cheap imports are being blamed for the Tongala plant’s demise, with operations to gradually move overseas before the factory shuts its doors in either late 2020 or mid-2021.

“People just don’t buy tinned milk like they used to, and cheaper imports have eroded our business further,” general manager Andrew McIver said in a statement on Wednesday.

“At the same time, the equipment in this factory is old, and the investment we need to make sure it can operate reliably in the future means that the factory is no longer viable.”

Nestle says it will help the factory’s 106 workers find new jobs.

“Today, our primary focus is on ensuring we do what we can to help each person prepare for their next step,” Mr McIver said.

Tongala is a tiny town more than 220km north of Melbourne.

Just over 1900 people live at Tongala, near Echuca, according to the 2016 census.

The National Union of Workers wants to sit down with Nestle to look at alternatives to closing the factory.

“These jobs are full time, well-paid, secure jobs that people in regional communities can build their lives around,” Victorian secretary Susie Allison said.

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“Workers in this town have given 50 years of milk supply to Nestle so there needs to be some serious discussion about what happens next.”

Victorian Nationals leader Peter Walsh said the news was devastating for the families and workers involved, but also the rest of the community.

“In a small, close-knit community like Tongala, the loss of so many jobs will have far-reaching consequences including on local sporting clubs, spending in small businesses and enrolments at the local school,” Mr Walsh said.