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Sky News AU
05-06-2025
- Business
- Sky News AU
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.
ABC News
04-06-2025
- Business
- ABC News
About 270 workers to lose jobs as SA's Seven Point Pork meat processor closes
Crisis talks are underway after South Australian meat processor JBS announced it would stop operating its Seven Point Pork (SPP) processing facility at Port Wakefield in early January next year. About 270 jobs will be lost, including 160 belonging to people who live in the regional council area. JBS pork division chief operating officer Edison Alvares said the decision came after a reduction of a significant number of pigs from one of the company's key strategic partners. "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. "We will continue to work hard to explore business opportunities that may support the recommencement of operations at the Port Wakefield processing facility in the future." JBS has said it would also meet any obligations it had to its workforce and its suppliers. A Coles spokesperson said the company was shifting some pork processing to other states to reflect growing customer demand. "South Australia will remain our biggest state supplier of pork — and we want to reassure the community that we are committed to delivering South Australian pork for South Australians," they said in a statement. They said Coles would be expanding its partnership with Big River Pork in Murray Bridge from next year. "We believe this evolution in our pork supply chain will deliver long-term benefits for customers, farmers, and the environment by creating a more streamlined and efficient pork supply chain, as we work to meet the growing demand across Australia," they said. Federal Liberal member for Grey, Tom Venning, said it was "very disappointing" to hear 270 workers would lose their jobs in January. He said it was also disappointing for suppliers who were already dealing with drought. "It's rubbing salt into injury in a year which is very, very dry," he told ABC Radio Adelaide. "For mixed farmers, the pigs are the only profit they're making so it's very disappointing." Mr Venning said he had sought further clarification from Coles around the decision, but said that "reading between the lines it seems like production is moving from South Australia to Victoria to be closer to market" because the cost of doing business was higher in South Australia. According to Seven Point Pork's website, the abattoir had a "long-standing relationship" with 20 farms around the country. While pork production will continue at Murray Bridge plant, Big River Pork, Mr Venning said there would be less South Australian pork on the shelves in the long term as Victoria ramped up production. As the major employer for Port Wakefield and the surrounding towns, Mr Venning said the abattoir's closure would have "huge ramifications" for the wider community. Pork SA committee chair and Murray Bridge pig farmer, Greg Davis, said pork supplies were in such demand across Australia he did not expect producers affected by Seven Point Pork's closure would have too much trouble finding new markets. "I don't think it will be too much of a problem," he said. "We think we've got the capacity in South Australia to handle the processing of all the pigs that South Australia produces." However, he said there would be additional freight costs for some producers. "That's an added cost to those guys, unfortunately," he said. "There's not much of an alternative, unfortunately.. "But we're very lucky, we're very fortunate in the pig industry this year that pork prices we're receiving are reflective of our costs. "We're doing OK, but it is tough going. "We'd love to see some rain … and we feel for our farming counterparts that are doing it tough at the moment."
