Australian companies are offering generous relocation and recruitment packages to experienced workers who may lose their jobs following the proposed closure of Timaru’s meat processing plant.
Last month, Alliance Group tabled a proposal to close the Smithfield meat processing plant in Canterbury which would mean about 600 staff were affected.
The decision was not final, and a decision would be released on October 18 as to whether the jobs would be axed.
Recruitment agency Canstaff is advertising hundreds of jobs in the meat industry both in the North Island and in Australia with more than 350 roles on offer.
Canstaff Managing Director Matt Jones told Breakfast there were “just not going to be opportunities in Timaru in the short term” for meat workers.
“We’ve been in Timaru for over 20 years now as a business, so just come and have a chat. We’ve got jobs in the North Island, we’ve got opportunities. But there’s going to be a long-term two-year economic crunch.
“Some people, yes, are looking at different training and different options, but it’s what they enjoy doing everyday. So, it’s finding those opportunities for them to give them a pathway in whatever those options are,” he said.
He said around “20 or 30” people had already been to see the recruitment agency to look at the other options offered in the North and South Island, as well as overseas.
Jones said there were about 65 to 75 jobs in the North Island, but some people were “a wee bit angry and saying ‘well, I just want to go,’ and that’s the sad part of it”.
“It’s a two or three year ripple right through Timaru… it’s a massive thing for a small town.”
Jones said some of the workers had been at the Timaru plant for over 20 years and were being sought because they are highly skilled.
“Some people have transferable skills, but there are going to be a lot of people left with nothing.”
He said Australia was “only a couple of hours across the ditch” and they did not have to stay forever.
“It might be a year or two and Timaru may have changed and there could be opportunities for them.”
He said some of the packages being offered were quite competitive, including “up to $5000 per person, support for the family and there’s opportunities from in Sydney to regional places [such as] Queensland”.
“It’s about lifestyle and what a person wants out of life and what they do outside of work and what suits them in Australia.”