News Article

Mortein maker's facility closure puts 200 jobs on the line

2/02/2012 -

Almost 200 workers will lose their jobs after the makers of Mortein and Dettol announced plans to shut down its only Australian manufacturing facility in Sydney.

Reckitt Benckiser (RB), a multinational household and healthcare manufacturer, on Wednesday announced plans to restructure its operations.

Around 190 employees, mostly production and maintenance workers, will be left without a job when manufacturing stops at its factory in Sydney's northwest by July.

The Australian Manufacturing Workers' Union (AMWU) said Reckitt Benckiser advised them late Tuesday afternoon that it would close the factory after almost 50 years in operation.

"This is a decision that's been made on the middle of the night, in secret, and it's a terrible shame for Australian manufacturing capability," AMWU state secretary Tim Ayres told reporters in Sydney.

"There's been no discussion, no contact with the AMWU or with staff.

"Staff have been given no opportunity to deal with the productivity challenges that the company claims have helped it make its decision."

But RB Australia CEO Lindsay Forrest said the market had changed significantly since local operations began in 1963.

"Australia's geographical distance from other markets and our relatively small domestic market has made it increasingly difficult to embed our West Ryde operations into these global arrangements," he said in a statement.

Forrest said production would move to other global manufacturing sites in Europe, Asia, South Africa, and North America.

Third party manufacturers will also be used to a lesser extent in Australia and New Zealand.

RB's consumer contact centre will remain in Australia.

Forrest said looking after the staff was a top priority.

"This announcement is understandably distressing for many of our team," he said.

But Ayres said he was concerned about the future for the affected workers.

"This is the human cost of when a big multinational company decides it's going to cut off its Australian arm," he said, adding that products like Mortein and Dettol will be now be manufactured offshore.

Reckitt Benckiser also makes Airwick, Aerogard, Easy Off, Dettol and Harpic in Australia.

Workers have been offered redundancy packages under their current agreement.

The announcement that 190 jobs would be axed was a major blow to the community, said federal MP John Alexander, who represents the workers in his electorate of Bennelong.

Alexander said Reckitt Benckiser had told the 190 employees they would all get their full entitlements, as well as career support over the coming months.

"My office will monitor this situation to ensure this takes place," he said in a statement on Wednesday.

More than 130,000 manufacturing jobs in Australia had been lost since 2008, Alexander said.

Source: AAP NewsWire

Have your say...

Warren | 2/02/2012 9:10:42 AM

the opportuinty here is that they will be outsourcing some stuff locall perhaps to PAX or Ensign. These are the guys we need to target for new machines

Colin Spencer | 2/02/2012 9:47:31 AM

While we can thank unions of Australia for the great wages and conditions we all enjoy, reality bites, when Australia becomes a high cost low volume producer. In the end, it is the worker who suffers most from higher wages and better conditions.

daniel | 2/02/2012 10:01:35 AM

No one should buy Dettol or Mortein or any other Reckit benckiser product in our "relatively small domestic market" of Australia anymore....see how that affects their "global arrangements". At about $6 a tin for mortien, and $4 for a bottle of Dettol, I am guessing it will start adding up pretty quickly.

Jim Dornan | 2/02/2012 10:26:41 AM

Well said Collin Spencer. The only way to fix this mess now is for the government to tax all the cheap stuff comming into our country so our industry can compete.

Diarmuid Hannigan | 2/02/2012 1:11:29 PM

When you tax labour in manufacturing you tax the manufacturer. When you have a duopoly in the retail sector you expose your local over taxed manufacturing sector to imports from countries that do not tax their manufacturers to death. When you have inefficient government six states two territories and a federal government, a banking sector that is to powerful and no coordinated plan for your nation you have a recipe for the extinction of manufacturing in Australia. When that happens the chickens will come home to roost and that is certainly a mess that no government will be able to sweep under the carpet.

Nathan | 7/02/2012 7:56:37 PM

I can fully understand why RB wants to move its manufacturing plant off shore to countries where employees know how to work and not have the hassle of having to keep the AMWU happy, although very much needed, they have just taken wages, safety and policies way to far. The great Aussie manufacturing plants will be a thing of the past by 2030, blame who? YOU!!

Desmond Elliott | 13/02/2012 11:26:40 AM

When will Australia wake up! In a developing country and most developed countries an Australian citizen cannot by a house or land...Why in Australia, do we sell everything to foreign countries. Are we too stupid to see we are selling our way to poverty...You cannot sell the farm and still reap the wheat...It's time to take stock of our foolish actions before it's too late... Great for banks - Bad for our Citizens (???)..who is in charge of Australia?

Stuart Fox | 29/02/2012 5:27:49 PM

The simple but sad bottom line is that rather than a case of not being able to manufacture for a fair price in Australia, it is a situation where goods may be produced for less cost overseas where wages and and conditions are lower - that = more PROFIT for owners of a business.

We welcome thoughtful comments from readers