Temporary layoffs announced at Darling Downs meat processor
By Sam Burgess
Posted 4 hours 13 minutes ago
* Map: Toowoomba 4350
More than 200 workers at a meat processing company on the southern Darling Downs west of Toowoomba in southern Queensland have been stood down for the rest of the week.
Leitch Pastoral Group says its Killarney and Pittsworth operations will be affected.
Company spokesman Rob Doro says a number of factors are behind the decision.
"The operational issues relate to a myriad of business issues - and financial issues are one of those, along with the ability to source livestock and also the competitive marketplace within the meat industry," he said.
The union representing meatworkers says it is concerned for the future of those employees.
Australasian Meat Industry Employees Union (AMIEU) spokesman Brian Crawford says it is a volatile industry.
"We're in for a very tough season," he said.
"The live export trade is growing at an alarming rate, which just keeps getting bigger and bigger and as a result processors are finding it very difficult to compete with the live trade because they don't have the overheads the processors have," he said.
http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2010/02/08/2813500.htm
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