The site has been hit with previous redundancy rounds in 2016 and 2014. Photo: RNZ / Cole Eastham-Farrelly
The complete closure of Fonterra's Canpac canning and packaging operations in Hamilton was confirmed with staff this afternoon.
In April, the dairy giant announced its plan to shut down the facility on 31 July.
"That was what we had talked about at the previous meeting and, while that is clearly disappointing, we are working very positively with Fonterra at the moment to ensure that, for our affected members, if they want a job, they get a job within the dairy industry," said Dairy Workers Union national secretary Chris Flatt.
When making the announcement last month, Fonterra chief operating officer Anna Palairet said low product volumes and increasing complexities in production had created challenging economic conditions for the facility.
There had been various rounds of redundancies at the site, as demand for its products decreased, including in 2016 and 2014.
"There have been many attempts to keep the site going, but ultimately, there is a reduction of demand out there and, unfortunately, Canpac is at the front line," Flatt said.
Fonterra agreed to give Canpac workers first preference for roles at other factories, if they wished to remain with the company.
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