Nestlé has announced a proposal to cease confectionery production at its Wiri, New Zealand factory, in a move that would result in up to 45 redundancies.
According to Nestlé, unions and facility staff have been informed of the plans and will have the opportunity to comment in the next two weeks.
Under the proposal, Nestlé will relocate the site’s Allen’s chews lollies manufacturing operations to a larger Allen’s factory in regional Victoria, Australia, with up to 45 roles being made redundant at Wiri. The company says that Allen’s lollies are currently manufactured at the New Zealand factory exclusively for sale in Australia.
Chris O’Donnell, confectionery general manager at Nestlé, said that the company regretted that the proposal will entail job losses at Wiri and that Nestlé would provide staff with a generous redundancy package and access to outplacement services.
“This doesn’t reflect on the personal efforts of our staff. It has been a commercial decision made after careful consideration of the benefits of simplifying and consolidating manufacture of our Australian lollies,” said O’Donnell.
The proposed changes do not affect the Wiri factory’s culinary manufacturing division. The site will remain the regional hub for Maggi, producing culinary products under the Maggi and Nestlé Docello brands for retail and foodservice.
Last year, Nestlé announced new names for its Allen’s Red Skins and Chicos lollies to address “overtones which are out of step with the company’s values”.
© FoodBev Media Ltd 2024
