Penfold Buscombe pulls the plug on Cairns print factory

While Penfold Buscombe has not confirmed a timeline for the closure of the former-PMP owned Cairns facility, the company says the decision was motivated by recent struggles with performance in the state and believes greater efficiencies will be found by having a more centralised approach to printing.

The existing operations in the Brisbane area will be integrated with the recent Octane and Scanlon Printing purchases to create “economies of scale”. Penfold Buscombe says workers affected by the closure will be paid full redundancy entitlements and that it will retain a sales presence in Cairns.

The AMWU confirms it spoke to workers from the Cairns facility following a meeting earlier in the week where the closure was announced. Employees expressed deep concern over how the process was managed and raised questions that the union was not notified prior to the meeting.

Danny Dougherty, regional secretary for the QLD division of AMWU, claims Penfold Buscombe has not yet discussed the closure with the union, employee entitlements or its reasons for making the decision.

“There is not yet a clear indication of what the redundancy payments will be,” says Dougherty. “Workers have been given figures that do not add up, and have asked the union to review them accordingly and contact the company if necessary.”