4 days ago
Abattoir crisis worsens as major South Australian facility shuts its doors with hundreds set to lose their jobs
Locals in the drought-ravaged SA town of Port Wakefield have been left mortified after a prominent local abattoir announced it would cease operations with hundreds of jobs set to be axed.
South Australian meat processor JBS revealed on Tuesday that it would close the long-running Seven Point Pork Abattoir, with 270 jobs set to be axed as a result.
The abattoir, which is a crucial local employer and driver of commerce in the drought-stricken town is set to cease its operations in January next year.
The shock closure came directly after Coles, a key customer of the abattoir, reduced its purchasing orders amid a move to shift its pork processing to other states.
JBS pork division chief operating officer Edison Alvares confirmed that while crisis talks were underway, the outlook remained grim after a key strategic partner stated it would purchase significantly less pigs.
"Due to the significant number of pigs involved, and the unavailability of replacement pigs, the Port Wakefield facility is simply no longer viable as a pork processing facility in the short term," Mr Alvares said.
"We recognise the impact and concerns this decision has on our valued workforce, their families, and the local community,' he stated.
Chris Robertson, an owner of a local bakery in Port Wakefield, told the Adelaide Advertiser the abattoir closure would be the final nail in the coffin for the town after the record-breaking drought had already decimated the community.
Ms Roberston said her businesses success was entirely dependent on tourists travelling through the town and that as lay offs continued a lack of demand would destroy her ability to continue operating.
'Over the past six or eight weeks, the three businesses next to me have shut,' she said, adding they all remain permanently closed.
'The RAA has relocated, the seafood place has shut, and the Coles Express has shut, the town is just dying; we'll be nothing but a stop shop town if we keep losing business and jobs,' the local business owner lamented.
A veteran employee at the abattoir who spoke on the condition of anonimity said the abattoirs closure would force hundreds of highly trained workers and their young families to flee the already crippled town.
'There's so much heartbreak, so many tears, this has absolutely destroyed us,' the man told the Adelaide Advertiser, adding, 'we are locals and have beautiful families here so we can't just move on that easy'.
The decision would mean that various Yorke Peninsula Pig Farmers, who are facing troubling woes of their own, would have to drive an additional two hours to send their stock to the Murray Bridge facility, one of the last remaining slaughterhouses in the area.
The town heavily depends on migrant workers and houses a sizeable Filipino community, with many only recently renewing their visas.
Another Seven Point Pork Abattoir worker told the Adelaide Advertiser he was aware of a 'few Sudanese boys who had recently renewed their work visas,' adding that they now "actually face the risk of being deported'.
It is understood that JBS will only offer redundancy packages to employees who have worked with the company for over a year and would not provide accommodation support to workers if an interstate relocation bid was successful.
JBS has also pleaded for its workers to 'remain loyal' to the company and continue in the job for six to seven months before looking for alternative employment, which has caused fury among employees.
