Workers from the Alliance Group's Smithfield meatworks ahead of a surprise meeting called for Friday morning. Photo: RNZ / Tim Brown
More than 600 people are employed at Alliance Group's Smithfield meatworks during the peak season. (File image) Photo: RNZ / Nate McKinnon
Hundreds of Canterbury meatworkers are anxiously waiting to find out if their jobs are safe.
Staff employed at at Alliance Group's Smithfield meatworks in Timaru have been called to a surprise meeting at 11am Friday.
The company will not say what it is about.
Lamb season finished on Wednesday, but venison processing is still running. Workers were told there were no shifts on Friday, and to be at the day's meeting.
Timaru Mayor Nigel Bowen said the plant employed more than 600 people at peak season, and workers were going into the meeting with a lot of questions.
"There's a lot of concern for those workers that are affected. There's been rumours for some time now around possible changes, potential closure, so I guess one thing that is positive is that affected parties will have that confirmed in one way or another."
Bowen said a closure would be significant for the region, given the large number of staff and supporting trades it would affect.
"We've been talking, certainly, with agencies, Chamber of Commerce, economic development, and certainly there'll be as much support as possible wrapped around anyone if there is any closure of sorts," he said.
"The community's already starting to work together on what support could be offered if necessary, and what other work opportunities there are for people to go to, We'll try our best to look out for everyone involved."
Alliance was the country's only entirely farmer-owned red meat co-operative. It was owned by about 4500 farmer shareholders and exported to more than 65 countries.
Alliance Group chief executive Willie Wiese said the company had requested Smithfield employees attend the meeting. He said it was inappropriate to comment further.
The announcement followed a tough year for the business - it reported a $70 million loss after tax in the year to September 2023.
This April, in a bid to remain farmer-owned, it turned to its farmer-shareholders to up their cash contributions, increased their shares and trimmed $3 a head off payments for livestock processed.
Alliance chairperson Mark Wynne told RNZ at the time the co-op needed up to $150m over the next two to three years to restore its balance sheet.
There had been a lot of talk about meat companies consolidating or trimming numbers in recent months, driven by a drop in the number of animals coming through the chain.
Land use change, drought forcing farmers to offload stock earlier and people exiting sheep farming due to low returns, meant there was not as much stock to be processed.
BX Foods, also known as Ōamaru Meats, cut 70 jobs just last month.