Heinz Australia will shed more than 300 jobs when it moves its Victoria, NSW and Queensland operations to New Zealand, it announced.
The decision will result in the loss of 160 jobs at Golden Circle's Northgate plant in Brisbane, 146 jobs at Girgarre in northern Victoria and another 38 jobs at Wagga Wagga, in NSW.
Heinz will shift production of sauces, beetroot and some meals products from these facilities to its operations in Hastings, New Zealand, it announced in a statement.
Heinz Australia CEO Nigel Comer said the decision was made after an extensive review of the company's manufacturing operations.
"Our decision to consolidate manufacturing is a crucial step in our plan to become more competitive in a challenging environment, and to accelerate future growth in both markets," Mr Comer said.
Mr Comer said Heinz expected to complete the manufacturing consolidation within 12 months.
Heinz will provide redundancy packages, counselling and job search packages to staff affected.
Affected growers would be offered financial and other assistance for transition to other crops or supply arrangements, Mr Comer said.
"After reaching this difficult but necessary decision, our goal is to support affected employees over the coming weeks and months," he said.
He said Heinz Australia and Golden Circle would continue to operate four factories and employ 1400 people.
It was also investing $20 million to upgrade the beverage manufacturing facilities at Northgate and $5 million at Echuca's baby food facility.
Friday's announcement comes after Heinz announced to the New York Stock Exchange that its raised its dividend and profit forecast as it plans to cut as many as 1,000 jobs world wide.
According to analysts, the cuts amount to about three per cent of its workforce.
