Agricultural chemicals manufacturer Nufarm will close its New Zealand manufacturing plant and shift regional production to Victoria.
Consolidating production will generate annual cost savings of $3 million and result in the elimination of up to 59 jobs at the Otahuhu factory, in Auckland, Nufarm said.
It will take an $11 million charge this year for restructuring costs.
The company expects the eventual sale of the Otahuhu site to generate $10 million profit.
The Auckland plant closure will bring Nufarm's total restructuring costs in Australia and New Zealand to $50 million. Overall savings were put at about $16 million a year.
The company, which makes herbicides and pesticides, announced plans in March to close manufacturing plants at Welshpool in Western Australia and Lytton in Queensland.
It would also close six facilities in a re-organisation of its network of regional service centres and warehouses, cut jobs in support and administration, and move to a new management structure.
The transfer of manufacturing from New Zealand to the Laverton, suburban Melbourne, factory would increase efficiency, lower unit costs, and reduce maintenance-related capital expenditure and working capital requirements, Nufarm said.
