ARBEX MUST COME CLEAN ON MILLICENT JOB LOSSES AND FUTURE OF MILL

ARBEX MUST COME CLEAN ON MILLICENT JOB LOSSES AND FUTURE OF MILL

Member for Barker Tony Pasin MP is calling on senior management at Arbex to immediate come clean with the local community with clear answers about the rumoured job losses at the Millicent Mill and the company’s long-term plans for the site.

Mr Pasin said formal correspondence he had received from Arbex advised of a proposed “transformation program” involving workforce reductions but provided no detail about the number of positions affected.

“The formal advice provided to me is vague and non-committal, while local reports and rumours suggest the number of jobs at risk could be as high as 100, around a quarter of the workforce,” Mr Pasin said.

“If that figure is anywhere near accurate, senior management needs to come clean with the local community about the scale of these proposed job losses and what they mean for the long-term future of the Mill.”

Mr Pasin said he understood the commercial pressures facing Australian manufacturers competing in global markets, particularly energy-intensive businesses.

“Australian manufacturing has lost competitive ground on energy costs, and businesses like the Millicent Mill are operating in an increasingly difficult international environment. I understand those pressures are real.”

“But potentially losing up to a quarter of the workforce at one of the region’s most significant employers would have consequences well beyond the Mill gates.”

“These are local families with mortgages and bills to pay. Their wages are spent in Millicent and across the Limestone Coast in our supermarkets, shops, cafés, sporting clubs and other local businesses.”

“A reduction of this scale also flows through to contractors, suppliers and service providers. When a major regional employer sheds jobs, the economic impact is felt right across the community.”

Mr Pasin said the Millicent Mill had been an important part of the region’s economy for generations and the community deserved certainty about its future.

“We need to know whether this restructure is genuinely about securing the Mill and its manufacturing operations for the long term, or whether there are further changes ahead.”

“My immediate priority is the workers, their families and the Millicent community. Arbex senior management owes them clear answers about how many jobs are proposed to go, the timeframe for those losses and, most importantly, the long-term plan for the Millicent Mill.”