Bega Cheese predicts profit payoff as 450 factory jobs axed
Sourse: DairyNews.today
A difficult decision by one of Australia’s biggest dairy companies to close a long-running cheese factory and a peanut plant should pay off in the long run, executives say.
Bega Cheese executive chairman Barry Irvin said the closures of its Strathmerton dairy factory in northern Victoria and the Peanut Company of Australia in Queensland would deliver a step change in earnings by 2026-27. “What we have built is a more consolidated and efficient footprint that enables us to make important decisions around automation and capital allocation,” Mr Irvin told the company’s annual meeting.
The Strathmerton processing and packaging plant, built by Kraft Foods in 1950, is being closed by mid-2026 with its operations consolidated into Bega’s existing facility in Bega, NSW, at a cost of 300 jobs.
The peanut processing business in Kingaroy and Tolga is being wound down over the next year with another 150 jobs lost. “Though we are reducing our workforce by approximately 450 roles, we are simultaneously increasing our business capacity, which reflects the efficiency gains and sharper capital focus these changes enable,” Mr Irvin said. Consolidating the operations at the Strathmerton site into Bega’s Ridge Street facility was expected to deliver a $30 million earnings uplift in 2026-27, while closing the peanut company would reduce cost pressures by $5m to $10m annually, he said.
The company is on track to exceed its earnings target of $250m by 2027-28, and should make $215m to $220m this financial year, Mr Irvin said, calling it further evidence of Bega’s strategic momentum.
The Strathmerton processing and packaging plant, built by Kraft Foods in 1950, is being closed by mid-2026 with its operations consolidated into Bega’s existing facility in Bega, NSW, at a cost of 300 jobs.
The peanut processing business in Kingaroy and Tolga is being wound down over the next year with another 150 jobs lost. “Though we are reducing our workforce by approximately 450 roles, we are simultaneously increasing our business capacity, which reflects the efficiency gains and sharper capital focus these changes enable,” Mr Irvin said. Consolidating the operations at the Strathmerton site into Bega’s Ridge Street facility was expected to deliver a $30 million earnings uplift in 2026-27, while closing the peanut company would reduce cost pressures by $5m to $10m annually, he said.
The company is on track to exceed its earnings target of $250m by 2027-28, and should make $215m to $220m this financial year, Mr Irvin said, calling it further evidence of Bega’s strategic momentum.
Key News of the Week
