Western Australia's food manufacturing industry has been dealt another blow with smallgoods manufacturer Don KRC, which manufactures products under the Watsonia and Don brands, announcing it will close its Spearwood facility next year.
The closure will result in 220 staff losing their jobs.
Announcing a major restructure of its manufacturing operations, Don KRC said it would also close its manufacturing facility at Altona, Victoria and centralise all manufacturing at the Castlemaine site in Victoria by 2010.
The Spearwood facility is expected to close by April 2009, with Altona to close by September 2010.
In February, Don parent company, George Weston Foods acquired fellow smallgoods producer KR Castlemaine
Don KRC chief executive Mel Sutton said over the past decade, industry and other pressures have seen Don and KR Castlemaine suffer significant and unsustainable loses. He said the current business model was unsustainable and the aging infrastructure at both Spearwood and Altona sites was unable to meet the future needs of the business.
The company said all employees would receive a redundancy package greater than that offered in their current industrial agreement or employment contract, with many employees eligible for retention bonuses.
Watsonia was started in 1895 by William Watson, who purchased its current Spearwood property in 1909.
In February 2005, George Weston expanded its operations in WA by purchasing smallgoods manufacturers Adelphi and Globe Smallgoods from the Craig Mostyn Group.
Following the acquisition, George Weston closed Adelphi's Bellevue factory and integrated production into its Spearwood manufacturing operations, which received a multi-million dollar upgrade.
