'Devastating': Hundreds of jobs impacted by Bega Cheese's announcement it will shut its Strathmerton, Victoria plant
Australian diary giant Bega Cheese has confirmed it will shut one of its plants in regional Victoria, with hundreds of jobs to be impacted by the shock announcement.
The Bega Cheese site in Strathmerton, near the New South Wales border, will undergo a phased closure with expectations it will fully wind up operations in mid-2026.
The cheese processing and packaging operations in the rural town will instead be consolidated at the company's expansive Ridge Street, Bega facility in south-east NSW.
Bega Cheese said 300 staff will be impacted by the announcement, with re-deployment opportunities to be assessed where possible.
The Liberal Member for Northern Victoria Region, Wendy Lovell, described the closure as a "devastating decision", which will have a ripple effect across the region.
Strathmerton, which is located about 15km west of Cobram and 55km north of Shepparton, had a population of 1,072 at the 2021 Census.
"It is always disappointing when companies are forced to move operations away from regional Victoria, and my first thoughts are with the workers and their families affected by this devastating decision," Ms Lovell said.
"My immediate priority is ensuring Bega redeploys as many staff as possible to the Tatura site and works with other local manufacturers to place affected workers into new jobs.
"The state and federal governments must also step up and provide support and retraining assistance for workers needing to transition to other industries.
"Local businesses supplying goods and services to the Strathmerton plant will also face heavy impacts, with economic ripples felt across the entire region."
Bega Group Chief Executive Officer, Pete Findlay, said the company was "very aware of the impact of this decision".
"We are doing our best to manage this transition with care and respect for our Strathmerton employees and the local community," Mr Findlay said.
"Where possible, we will offer re-deployment to employees and continue to support them through this period."
Mr Findlay said that "as the business maintains its focus on delivering productivity improvement and growth, we continue to look at opportunities to simplify our operational footprint and invest for the future ensuring we maintain globally competitive infrastructure".
Five other company-operated Victorian manufacturing sites, in Port Melbourne, Tatura, Morwell, Chelsea and Koroit, will remain.
Together, they employ more than 1,700 people.
About 100 jobs in the Bega Valley are expected to be created by the decision to consolidate Strathmerton operations in the NSW town the company is named after.
Ms Lovell said it was "sadly unsurprising that a company with sites in other states would choose to relocate to NSW, where business conditions are more competitive and government policy encourages – rather than punishes – investment and job creation".
"Recent analysis of Australian Bureau of Statistics data shows 129,000 Victorian businesses closed in 2024 – over 350 a day – while more than 3,000 moved interstate.
"This mass exodus reflects the rising cost of doing business in Victoria, fuelled by the Allan Labor government's regime of punitive taxes and suffocating regulations."
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