60 jobs go as iconic Northern Territory company Mobile Electric goes into liquidation

THE sad financial state of Darwin’s struggling small business sector has claimed another victim with iconic company, Mobile Electric, going into liquidation with the loss of 60 jobs

Mobile Electric is located in Berrimah.

THE sad financial state of Darwin’s struggling small business sector has claimed another victim with iconic company, Mobile Electric, going into liquidation with the loss of 60 jobs.

Mobile Electric has been trading in Darwin for almost 50 years, with its current owners having charge of it for more than 20 years.

The 60 workers arrived at work this morning to be told the bad news.

Liquidators told the NT News that the owners had tried everything they could to keep the business going but in the face of a quiet economy were left with no other option but to close the business.

GET FULL DIGITAL ACCESS FOR 50C A DAY

The loss of the 60 jobs comes just a few weeks after 200 jobs were lost when the Livingstone Abattoir closed its doors.

Chamber of Commerce deputy chief executive Brian O’Gallagher said the loss of Mobile Electric was tragic.

“When you get a long term business like this forced to close it really emphasises just how tough many small- to medium-sized businesses are still doing it in Darwin,” Mr O’Gallagher said.

“While there is plenty of talk about major projects like onshore gas and other infrastructure jobs in the future the fact that small business in still struggling should not be lost on the Territory Government.”

The liquidators echoed Mr O’Gallagher’s sentiments.

“There was no work on the horizon to make it possible for Mobile Electric to keep trading, it is simply that bad as everyone knows,” a spokesman for the liquidators said.

“Not withstanding that they have been battling on for a while they really had reached the end of the road … and they tried every avenue. They tried to refinance and borrow money and do all sorts of things they could think of to keep going, but they just couldn’t.

“There is around 60 employees that have been made redundant. We are currently talking to Sunbuild about the work Mobile Electric was doing for them and we are working with some staff to keep them working on those projects but employed by Sunbuild.”

The liquidator said the main task at the moment was guaranteeing workers’ entitlements.

“This is a business that has been going for more than 47 years, with the longest serving employee being there 30 years.

“There is no money there to pay them at the moment, but the Federal Government’s Fair Entitlement Guarantee (FEG) scheme is there to cover this.

“FEG pays out employees’ entitlements for holiday pay, long service leave, pay in lieu of notice and redundancies.”

The NT News has sought comment from Mobile Electric’s owners.