Australian dairy company Bega Group is relocating the operation of its Canberra facility in Griffith to the company’s Penrith site.
The decision follows a comprehensive review of its fresh milk manufacturing operations across the ACT and New South Wales.
In an ASX announcement, Bega said the changing nature of the dairy market within the ACT means Bega’s Griffith facility has not been operating at its full capacity for some time. The fact that there have not been dairy farms within the capital for many years has also been a challenge for the Canberra site.
Milk was traditionally sourced from outside of Canberra and transported to Griffith for production as there are no dairy farms in the ACT, the company explained.
This setup often bypasses more efficient and sustainable production sites like the company’s facility in Penrith.
The company noted that there will be no change to the brand or the milk inside the bottles across Canberra Milk or Dairy Farmers brands despite the changes in facilities.
“This move will allow us to maintain our high standards across product quality and customer service utilising the benefits of a larger full-time operation specialising in the production of fresh milk,” said Darryn Wallace, executive general manager of Bega Dairy and Drinks.
Bega added that it is working closely with the 19 employees who have been affected by the transition, noting that it will provide redundancy packages or redeployment where possible.
Outplacement and employment assistance programs are also available for team members affected by the job transition.
