More than 120 Border jobs will be gone by Christmas next year after Seeley International announced it would close down its operations in Albury-Wodonga.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
Seeley International group managing director Jon Seeley said the Victorian government's decision to ban gas for new homes was a major factor in the "difficult but necessary decision".
Mr Seeley said all workers would be given full entitlements and offered ongoing employment at the company's Adelaide facilities following the closure of the Border operations, which is slated for December 2025.
Seeley employs 125 Border workers with its factory in Albury and a warehouse and testing set-up in Wodonga.
"The consolidation of our Australian manufacturing operations is a difficult but necessary decision to ensure the economic sustainability of our business," Mr Seeley said.
"The accelerated disruption to our industry caused by the Victorian government's inexcusable anti-gas obsession, and using taxpayers' money to pay consumers to replace Australian-made gas heaters with imported reverse cycle systems, is extremely detrimental.
"This policy will only increase demand on an already overloaded, coal-fired electricity grid and drive emissions up, not down.''
"We believe in the importance of gas in the clean energy transition and recognise the need to plot a sensible path away from fossil fuels, including natural gas. But a premature exit from gas, without viable alternatives and credible solutions, is entirely reckless and will end up costing consumers the most."
Mr Seeley also took aim at impending changes to federal industrial relations law were the straw that "broke the camel's back" for the company's Border operations, which had a reliance on a seasonal workforce.
"The extreme and oppressive new industrial relations laws from the federal government will punish casual employees and their employers. As a result, it is no longer viable to have summer and winter seasonal peaks in two different locations with different workforces,'' Mr Seeley said.
"The company remains strong and continues to drive innovation and product development in the clean energy transition, from its Adelaide base."
More to come