Work and Income support was immediately in place for PPCS Burnside workers who learnt yesterday they were losing their jobs, Dunedin South MP David Benson-Pope said.
His prime concern was for the individuals affected and he had made sure Work and Income staff were ready to deal with any inquiries and provide what support they could to any of the workers, he said.
The Burnside announcement comes not long after Fisher and Paykel Appliances and Tamahine Knitwear said they were closing their Dunedin plants.
"We know there is a lot of demand for skilled people in this and other industries.
We have a successful strategy in place.
More than half of the Tamahine people [will] have been placed into other employment before they have finished.
I am not sure of the F&P numbers, but the strategy is working there as well."
While he was disappointed by PPCS's decision, he said it was an indication of the rebalancing of the agricultural processing industry.
There was a finite amount of land and given the huge increase in dairying, people should not have been surprised at changes in agriculture when farmers started farming other animals.
That did not detract from the hurt being felt by PPCS workers, but it should be seen as part of the reorganisation of meat processing.
"Farmers - the prime supporters of the National Party - who are doing well need to start thinking about the outcomes of their decisions," he said.
Dunedin North MP and Economic Development Minister Pete Hodgson also expressed his sympathy for the affected workers and their families.
"I acknowledge some may be re-employed with the company but not everyone can relocate."
The still-buoyant labour market in Dunedin should see jobs become available for many affected workers, he said.
