Houston's Farm salad processing facility to close, 80 jobs to go

FORMER Houston’s Farm salad processing facility in Cambridge will be decommissioned following its recent acquisition by PM Fresh, with the loss of 80 jobs.

The closure, which will unfold over the next three weeks, has left roughly 80 employees— many of whom have deep roots in the local farming community, facing uncertainty about their future.

Australian Workers Union Secretary Robert Flanagan expressed his concern over the situation, particularly for the long-serving employees who are now confronted with job losses.

“They are devastated by the news they’ve lost their employment,” he said.

Just two weeks ago, Houston Farm’s administrators FTI Consulting, met with the Houston Farm employees advising them they would be redundant effective August 1.

Mr Flanagan said the former employees were advised they could apply for labour hire to regain ongoing work with PM Fresh at the Tasmanian facility.

Updates indicate this option is no longer viable.

“The feedback we’ve had from people who returned as labour hires is that the factory will be decommissioned over the next three weeks," Mr Flanagan said.

Mr Flanagan said all processing at the Cambridge site will cease after this time, likely be undertaken at one of PM Fresh’s mainland facilities moving forward.

“We understand the farming operations will continue there, but nothing will be processed in Tasmania,” he said.

“PM Fresh are already in salads in a fairly significant way on the mainland so we understand what’s likely to happen is that processing will be done in one of their other facilities,” Mr Flanagan said.

Mr Flanagan believes a reason behind the closure was due to PM Fresh’s ongoing difficulties with their Queensland operations such as floods.

“Ultimately their business here just wasn’t viable,” he said.

For former employees of Houston’s Farm, Mr Flanagan says the immediate priority is securing new employment.

“Our focus now is on helping these workers find new job opportunities and supporting them through this time,” Mr Flanagan said.