SMEC winds down Perth office

The Snowy Mountains Engineering Corporation is winding down its St George's Terrace office, after years of struggling to make the Perth outpost a profitable venture.

There are 15 staff members in the Perth office; with some having already received their redundancy notices.

"It has been unprofitable for many years," a spokeswoman told WA Business News.

The spokeswoman said some of the staff would continue working into 2010 to complete various projects and that SMEC's human resources department was seeking to find alternate work for affected employees.

The spokeswoman said the future of SMEC's Perth operations was under review.

The engineering and development consultancy was born out of the Snowy Mountains Scheme as a government agency before being privatised in the early 1990s. It has expanded into more than 20 cities globally.

SMEC's Australian operations delivered a $35 million net profit in 2008-09, marking a substantial increase compared to previous years.

Its WA division is a minor part of its overall operations, and has long struggled to provide a suitable return on capital.

SMEC's state-based work has included the provision of environmental advice on an iron ore deposit at Roy Hill Pastoral station in the East Pilbara.