Coca-Cola Amatil (CCA) plans to expand its beverage facility in Adelaide to accommodate juice production from another facility, resulting in the loss of 28 jobs.
CCA said the move was part of a supply chain cost efficiency effort, and would involve moving juice production from Waikerie in South Australia to its major beverage facility in Thebarton, Adelaide.
According to CCA, to accommodate the move, the Thebarton facility would undergo a $2.9 million upgrade. Juice extraction and blending for CCA’s Crusta and Goulburn Valley juice products will continue to be undertaken at its Ramco facility near Waikerie, but all bottling and packaging operations will move to Adelaide by the end of the first half of 2014.
All of the 28 affected employees would have the opportunity to work at other CCA facilities across Australia, including Thebarton when positions became available, according to the company. CCA said it would continue to source fruit from local Riverland growers, who would not be affected by the changes.
“We are working with employees and union officials to ensure a smooth transition is achieved over the coming months,” said CCA’s SA state general manager Martin Cowley.
CCA’s supply chain director Bruce Herbert said: “Ensuring cost effective operations are crucial to CCA’s future ability to continue to sustain its juice business. Without these changes, juice production for CCA would be uncompetitive.”
“We are not closing down or moving our juice operations offshore, nor are we turning to overseas fruit or juice for our brands. We are instead maintaining our entire fruit juice production within South Australia.”
Cowley noted that in the last five years CCA had invested more than $54 million into its production facilities in Adelaide, including $10 million for alcoholic beverages production and $34 million in blow-fill technology to make lightweight PET bottles.
Bottling and packaging of CCA’s Goulburn Valley and Crusta juice products will be moved to Adelaide.
