Coca-Cola Amatil to hold a meeting with staff at its Adelaide operations as company releases full-year results
MORE than 170 jobs are expected to be lost in South Australia, after Coca-Cola Amatil this morning announced plans to close its factory.
COCA-COLA has announced this morning that it will shut its manufacturing operations in South Australia from 2019.
In a meeting with staff at 8am on Wednesday, the company announced it would close its bottling plant in Port Rd, Thebarton, which produces 19 million cases across more than 600 beverage products each year.
The move will affect about 180 employees and contractors. Coca-Cola’s announcement coincides with the release of the company’s 2016 full-year financial results, which revealed a sharp decline in annual profit.
The company booked a 37.4 per cent drop in annual net profit to $246.1 million, hurt by a $171.8 million after tax writedown on its SPC fruit canning business. Annual total revenue rose 1.3 per cent to $5.25 billion.
Coca-Cola Amatil Group managing director Alison Watkins said constraints of the Thebarton plant were behind the company’s decision to close it.
“The review found that further development of our factory at Thebarton in South Australia was constrained its CBD location, site layout, dated infrastructure and expensive logistics,” she said.
“We will therefore be closing our South Australia manufacturing facility, principally at Thebarton, in 2019.
“This isn’t a decision we have taken lightly, but we know it will be important for ensuring our position in the market into the future.
“I want to take the opportunity to acknowledge our committed and hardworking manufacturing team in South Australia.”
Staff were not be required to return to work following the meeting. All casual workers at the Thebarton plant were told to go home on Tuesday.
While the Thebarton plant is closing, the company’s distribution centre in Salisbury, which employs up to 100 staff will not be closed.
Existing sales, warehousing, equipment servicing and recycling teams in SA will also not be affected.
Coca Cola said it would individually work with each employee affected in order to “provide financial counselling, personal support and assistance in finding new positions”.
BREAKING Thebarton plant of @CocaColaCo to CLOSE in 2019 according to company announcmement to ASX
â Renato Castello (@Rencastello) February 21, 2017
Very sad day for workers at Coca-Cola factories in SA. Australia must stand up for manufacturing jobs.
â Bill Shorten (@billshortenmp) February 21, 2017
Thebarton’s manufacturing operations will shift to Richlands in Queensland, where Coca-Cola Amatil announced a new $90 million investment this morning, as well as Kewdale in Western Australia, Moorabbin in Victoria and Northmead in NSW.
The company also announced the departure of its long standing chairman David Gonski in May. He will be succeeded by non-executive director Ilana Atlas.
Managing director Alison Watkins said the company needs to modernise and invest in new capability across the supply chain to maintain its “competitiveness in the market”.
The company announced a 75 per cent franked dividend of 25 cents.
— With AAP
Originally published as Coca-Cola Amatil to hold a meeting with staff at its Adelaide operations as company releases full-year results