Flood washes away jobs at mill

VICTOR Carroll is hoping he will be able to take an early retirement after he and 29 Allied Mills co-workers were made redundant yesterday.

It was the only job the 61-year-old site cleaner had ever had, having started at the Ruthven St site 46 years ago.

“I'm not happy,” Mr Carroll said.

However, he said he had been expecting the news as the company had not been in production since suffering substantial damage during the flood of January 10.

Allied Mills managing director Joe Di Leo flew from Sydney with other company executives yesterday to deliver the news.

He said about 20 core staff members would remain at the site to help put together the rebuilding proposal.

“The site will be inoperable for a minimum of 12 to 15 months and it could be as long as 18 months,” Mr Di Leo said.

“This is a very, very sad day.”

All staff members had been kept on in cleaning roles since the flood, but Mr Di Leo said that could no longer continue now the cleaning was effectively complete.

Employees will receive their full redundancy entitlements and have been offered work at Allied Mills' other sites, the closest being at Yatala and Tennyson.

They have also been offered assistance to find new jobs.

“The company will do everything it possibly can to help them get on with the next chapter of their lives.”

Mr Di Leo said there were no plans to sell the site and all efforts would be focused on rebuilding.

Shift miller Eric Hawkins said he was happy with the way Allied Mills had dealt with the situation despite being made redundant after 10-and-a-half years of service.

“They have kept us well-informed the whole way,” Mr Hawkins said.

“It's sad because I am going to miss all of the other workers.”

Miller's assistant Ty Robertson said he wasn't surprised by the announcement.

“Now I definitely know that I'll have to find new work.

“I guess that's going to be the hardest part.”

Production manager Byron Cameron, who will remain on as a member of core staff, said it was a sad day for the company.

“It was an act of nature that brought us to where we are today.”