Christine Holgate wants sacked Scott’s workers; truck drivers’ union to protest outside Aldi over company’s collapse

As the truck drivers’ union prepares to protest outside Aldi stores over Scott’s collapse, Team Global Express is looking to hire some of the 1500 people who lost their jobs.

Team Global Express – the company formerly part of Toll – is looking to hire some of the 1500 workers from collapsed refrigerated logistics group, Scott’s, while the truck drivers’ union is preparing to protest outside Aldi stores over the company’s demise.

Team Global Express – headed by former Australia Post and Blackmores chief executive Christine Holgate – says it is having “constructive conversations” with the Transport Workers Union and Scott’s receiver KordaMentha about hiring sacked workers.

The TWU is holding similar talks with Lindsay Fox’s Linfox, ACFS, Ron Finemore Transport and FBT Transwest to “maximise redeployment opportunities” and stem disruptions of food deliveries to Australia’s major supermarkets.

A spokeswoman for Team Global Express said the company had several vacant roles across Australia, including truck and forklift drivers, customer service representatives, as well as depot and corporate staff.

“Team Global Express is having constructive conversations with the TWU and Scott’s, to assist affected employees transition to new work opportunities,” the spokeswoman said.

“We understand this is a stressful time for people who have been affected by this situation. We are implementing a dedicated ‘expression of interest’ link for Scott’s employees to register via, and are deploying additional recruitment resources to assist those who register. This link will be provided directly to the TWU and Scott’s.”

Scott's Refrigerated Logistics entered liquidation on Friday.

It comes as Scott’s staff have been told to keep turning up to work to ensure they can access their entitlements worth a combined $50m, despite the company entering liquidation.

KordaMentha – which is aiming to sell the company’s fleet of 500 trucks and 24 warehouses – told the company’s 1500 staff that they should keep turning up to work, providing no end date to their employment.

TWU national secretary Michael Kaine called on the federal government to deliver “urgent” transport reform, warning “more businesses and lives would be at risk without action”.

He said the collapse of Scott’s is a “tragedy of a supply chain crisis caused by wealthy clients like Aldi squeezing transport contracts and profiting off the razor-thin margins of operators”. Aldi – which accounted for 3 per cent of Scott’s business – has refuted the union’s claims.

The TWU is planning protests at Aldi stores across Australia on Tuesday.

“Unlike Coles and Woolies, Aldi has refused to sign a supply chain charter with the TWU and instead tried to silence truckies in court – but lost, twice,” Mr Kaine said.

“Scott’s Refrigerated Logistics is a major casualty of an industry-wide crisis that’s pushing operators and drivers to the brink, which will have an enormous impact on our essential grocery supply chains. Scott’s is not the first transport company to be pushed out of the market by profit-hungry clients at the top of supply chains, and it won’t be the last unless we enact reform to ensure those clients are accountable for fair, safe and sustainable transport contracts.

“Last year the federal government committed to setting enforceable minimum standards in transport. The transport industry is at crisis point – we need the federal parliament to urgently pass this reform to save businesses and lives.”

Taxpayers are expected to pay for Scott’s workers entitlements, which are set to total up to $50m, under the federal government’s redundancy scheme.

In its latest accounts, Scott’s – which serviced all major supermarkets, delivering food to Coles and Aldi directly, and on behalf of suppliers to Woolworths and IGA – made a near $1.1m provision on “onerous” or loss-making contracts.

TWU National Secretary Michael Kaine says Scott’s is a ‘a major casualty of an industry-wide crisis that’s pushing operators and drivers to the brink’.

It was already in financial distress when private equity firm Anchorage Capital Partners bought the company for just $1 in mid-2020 but assumed all its debts, which totalled $75m.

KordaMentha was hopeful of selling the business as a going concern, saving its 1500 jobs and protecting supermarket food supplies. But Team Global Express and Linfox ruled themselves out as potential bidders, with KordaMentha receiving only one confirmed bid believed to be from ASX-listed trucking provider Lindsay. KordaMentha hopes to begin a sale of the company’s assets as early as this week.

It is understood that potential bidders were concerned about the age of Scott’s fleet and warehouses. Transport logistics providers operate on slender margins of 3-5 per cent, meaning companies have to be as efficient as possible to stay in business.

Scott’s, while Australia’s biggest refrigerated logistics company, was also competing against the likes of Newcold, which opened a fully automated warehouse, requiring few staff and with 225,000 pallet positions, in Melbourne’s western suburbs in 2017.

Scott’s biggest customers had agreed to help fund the company until a sale could be completed. But such was the size of the company’s earnings hole that unless it found a buyer quickly, liquidation was the only option.

The company collapsed on Monday after its owner, Anchorage Capital Partners – which also bought David Jones for $100m late last year – attempted to offload the business.

While assembling a data room for a potential sale last week, Anchorage discovered Scott’s finances were worse than anticipated, prompting it to place it in voluntary administration.

Secured creditors then quickly called in receivers, Melbourne insolvency firm KordaMentha, making it one of corporate Australia’s shortest administration periods.

Scott’s latest accounts – which cover the 16-month period to the end of June 2021 – included a “bargain gain” of $43,087,000 after Anchorage initially bought the company for a token $1.

This helped limit its loss of $7.3m from $542m revenue.

Auditor David Richards, of KPMG, was concerned about the company’s ongoing financial viability.

“Material uncertainty exists that may cast significant doubt on the group’s ability to continue as a going concern and, therefore, whether it will realise its assets and discharge its liabilities in the normal course of business, and at the amounts stated in the financial report,” Mr Richards said.