Works closing ‘for survival’

Press, 15 October 1986, Page 32

Works closing ‘for survival’

PA Wellington Meat plants had to close for the industry to survive, said the deputy chairman of the Meat Board, Mr N. D. Mcßae. A drop of six to seven million from the number of sheep killed two years ago meant more than one large plant would have to close to keep up production levels in the remaining works, he said. If the fall in livestock was to stop, the industry must strive to make even better use of facilities, and that inevitably meant further closings, Mr Mcßae said.

Plant closings were only one part in the industry’s survival. Higher production by workers was just as critical, he said. The independent report on industry costs commissioned by the Meat Industry Council suggested that $lOO million to $2OO million could be saved each year by putting ways of raising productivity into practice. Mr Mcßae said: “The human cost in terms of lost jobs and the decline of some townships is of great concern, but that cost must be met where industries go through a process of rejuvenation.”