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Photo: RNZ / Nate McKinnon
Six hundred meatworkers in Timaru have just learned they've lost their jobs at the Smithfield plant at an all-staff meeting.
The plan was first announced at a meeting on September 27, and consultation on the proposal ended last week.
All operations at the 139-year-old plant will halt by the end of December.
Owner Alliance Group says it's under pressure from a decline in sheep processing numbers and more land being used for forestry.
RNZ reporter Delphine Herbert has been outside the meeting, and she joins Kathryn.