Coca-Cola Amatil: 57 jobs to go in Coke factory closure

FIFTY-SEVEN jobs will be lost when beverages supplier Coca-Cola Amatil closes its production facility at Bayswater in Melbourne.

Finance 11.5.05 BCM Coca Cola - Amatil plant at Richlands bottling Mount Franklin water. PicJohnWilson

FIFTY-SEVEN jobs will be lost when beverages supplier Coca-Cola Amatil closes its production facility at Bayswater in Melbourne over the next 12 months.

Coca-Cola Amatil said on Tuesday that it would relocate three production lines from the Bayswater factory to its larger capital city facilities.

Closure of the factory is part of the beverage supplier’s strategy to become more productive and efficient.

The closure will be phased in over the next 12 months.

“While we regret closing Bayswater, we have flagged driving greater efficiencies from our supply chain as part of our plan to return to growth, which is an imperative,” Coca-Cola Amatil group managing director Alison Watkins said in a statement.

“I am confident that our policy provides for fair arrangements for those people affected, and we have an orderly transition plan to closure.” Coca-Cola Amatil announced in August that it would strip $100 million in costs from its operations after its half-year profit fell almost 16 per cent amid difficult trading conditions.

In September, Coca-Cola Amatil cut 100 jobs from its national supply chain.

The bottler of soft drink, water and sports drinks made a net profit of $182.3 million in the six months to June, down on $216 million a year earlier.