Heavy engineering company Civmec has acquired engineering and shipbuilding company, Forgacs for $21m.
Following the due diligence process and subsequent negotiations the company decided that the acquisition will include the Forgacs name, the shipyard facilities, and the assets located at Tomago, New South Wales.
However, as The West Australian reports, neither Forgacs nearby plant and equipment at Hesham or its plant in Gladstone, Queensland were included in the deal.
And, as Civmec CEO Patrick Tallon told the ABC, the deal was purely an asset purchase and all 150 Forgacs workers lose their jobs as a result.
Australian Manufacturing Workers Union (AMWU) New South Wales secretary Tim Ayres told the ABC that the workers were sacked on the spot.
“The first that employees found out about this was when they were brought to meetings, given estimations about redundancy payments and marched off the job,” he said.
“To be marched off the job like that is disrespectful and unnecessary.
“We’re going to make sure that we engage with these issues and try and fight for a future for the shipbuilding industry in the Hunter.”
Tallon told the ABC that, given Civmec will develop the Tomago site to operate as a multi-disciplinary facility, the company is likely to re-employ some of those sacked Forgacs workers in the future.
“We will start looking at potential projects immediately,” Tallon said.
He added that, “…obviously we’d be very interested in recruiting people in the area, people who have previously worked for Forgacs.”
Source: Manufacturer’s Monthly
