Bega to close cheese processing plant in small town of Strathmerton, leaving community reeling

ABC NEWS (Australia)

The small community of Strathmerton in northern Victoria has been left reeling after dairy manufacturer Bega announced 300 jobs will go when it closes its processing plant in the town next year. The company says it will redeploy as many workers as it can, but locals say Bega is Strathmerton's biggest employer and the town will be decimated by the closure.

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00:00Dennis Coy has lived in Strathmerton for 70 years.

00:07It's devastating, really. Yes, devastating.

00:12He says Bega's dairy processing plant has been crucial to the community for as long as he can remember.

00:18The factory's always been, well it's actually made Strathmerton

00:21because I think nearly every person here was working there at one stage of their life.

00:26The factory dominates the landscape and the local economy.

00:30There's only 1,100 people that live in Strathmerton and 340 people that work at the factory.

00:36This is going to decimate this community.

00:38Workers say they were blindsided yesterday when a notice to the Australian Stock Exchange

00:43detailed the company's plans to sack 300 workers

00:47and consolidate its cheese processing operation at its Bega factory.

00:51The company says the two plants make the same products

00:54and neither was running to capacity.

00:57They were running well below full operation.

00:59So the Strathmerton site was below 50%.

01:03The Bega group says it will look to redeploy staff where it can,

01:07either to its plant at Bega or to its other operations in Victoria.

01:12But workers in Strathmerton say many local families won't want to move.

01:17That is going to be huge for them.

01:19Now what do they do?

01:20Where do they go?

01:21How are they going to manage?

01:23The Strathmerton Bulldogs have relied on workers from the plant

01:26to pull on the red, white and blue for decades.

01:29Another sponsor to shut down in the local area.

01:33Whether we're going to see any money out of the Bega Valley

01:36back to little old Strathi footy club remains to be seen,

01:39but I'd be very surprised.

01:41I'd like to think that we can do something to keep the town going.

01:46A town's fighting spirit being put firmly to the test.

01:50What happens when they come from the farm?

01:51Who would have been a link of the Bega Valley back and Old South Miami

01:53strength boy to develop a roller coaster type of control meter?

01:56How of Michael Sessions andcjeなら one more one more?

01:57How of Michael Sessions is to brew the terrible boat again.

01:59How about Michael Sessionsọ of the best term?

02:00What's Michael Sessions?

02:01What Asaph's Mul hey ace!

02:03What's Michael Sessions as amate?

02:04What do they do?

02:05What do they do?

02:07How of am I right doing Joe Sessions is an AMO?

02:08Why am I right here?

02:10What can I switch?

02:11What am I right?

02:12I have on white.

02:13Well, here's the last semester week it.

02:14How about your family going to be so long?

02:15I'm cuenta of them.

02:16How about how am I left?

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