Lower interest rates and the first economic stimulus package have helped shore up jobs in the retail industry, according to an analysis of new ABS jobs data, the Australian National Retailers Association said today. ANRA, which represents a number of Australia’s largest retail organisations including supermarket chains Coles, Woolworths and Franklins, reported that growth in the number of retail job losses had begun to subside. “The ABS Labour Force figures for the February quarter show... ...Read more »

Ricegrowers Ltd, which trades as SunRice and is one of the world’s largest branded rice companies, has been forced to “downscale” operations as a result of the impact of the drought on their harvest. The actions of the company to cope with the expected low 2009 crop of around 75,000 tonnes were today passed onto employees and shareholders of the company. The company has the capacity to handle 1.2 million tonnes each year and this year’s shortfall comes after last year’s... ...Read more »

The retail sector may have shed up to 8,000 full-time jobs in February, the Australian National Retailers Association said today, while the fast-food sector will soon face a significant rise in labour costs. The latest unemployment figures released from the Australian Bureau of Statistics show unemployment has risen to 5.2% with 53,800 full-time jobs lost. The retail sector employs 15% of the Australian workforce. “Retail jobs are the most vulnerable when there is a loss of confidence in the... ...Read more »

Woolworths, Australia’s largest supermarket operator, is not expecting to lower their guidance despite economic headwinds, as they remain positive after reporting a record first-half. “One of the things we did when this first erupted, we determined a couple of things. Number one, let’s not change our targets, so our guidance has been the same even though we set those back in March last year for ourselves, we haven’t changed them,” Woolworths CEO, Michael Luscombe, told... ...Read more »

Heinz Australia has advised that manufacturing job cuts are not on the agenda following the acquisition of Golden Circle in December, as it seeks to strengthen the brand it acquired for $288 million. Golden Circle has around 1000 employees working at their two manufacturing facilities, Northgate in Brisbane and Mill Park in Melbourne. Heinz spokeswoman, Jessica Ramsden, reported that no manufacturing jobs had been cut since the completion of the takeover, with the company actually planning to increase... ...Read more »

The Australian National Retailers Association, which represents the likes of Coles, Woolworths and Franklins, is advocating a national plan for payroll tax relief which they believe could assist cash strapped employers save up to 55,000 jobs. ANRA CEO Margy Osmond wrote to the Prime Minister, Premiers and Chief Ministers two weeks ago proposing a national plan which would cut payroll tax to a uniform rate of 4%. “Cash payments to households and infrastructure spending will stimulate the economy,... ...Read more »

Unilever Australasia is in the process of a reorganisation, designed to reduce costs and strengthen their connection with consumers, according to just-food. The restructure will involve the cutting of 90 jobs across a wide range of departments. The affect of which is expected to be dampened by their earlier decision to freeze recruitment. “Unilever Australasia is undergoing organisational changes to achieve the ambition of moving from a good business to a great one,” a Unilever spokesman... ...Read more »

PepsiCo, one of the world’s largest food and beverage companies, has announced a ‘Productivity for Growth Intiative’ expected to provide the company with savings of US$1.2 billion. The expected savings are to be invested in brand building, long-term R&D, innovation and growth initiatives in key markets. Approximately 3,300 jobs will go worldwide as the American company seeks to improve on their third quarter net revenue growth of 11 per cent – which failed to meet... ...Read more »

Constellation Brands, Inc., a leading international beverage alcohol producer and marketer, has announced that Constellation Wines Australia (formerly Hardy Wine Company) will sell certain assets and implement changes to its wine portfolio and production footprint. The changes are being made to “simplify the business and provide better focus on premium brands and operational efficiencies aimed at increasing long- term profitable growth and improved returns”. Constellation plan to sell... ...Read more »

Coca-Cola Amatil Limited announced yesterday that they will consolidate their Victorian SPC Ardmona operations. The announcement follows a comprehensive review of its SPC Ardmona operations in the Goulburn Valley, which was initiated “in light of the continued impact of the drought and the need to better manage the Australian fruit intake”. The review determined that there is excess capacity in the Shepparton and Mooroopna plants in the Goulburn Valley and, consequently, the deciduous... ...Read more »