THE great cattle shortage has sunk its teeth in this week, with big beef processor JBS putting 600 workers off as it moves to scale back operations at its Dinmore plant in Queensland.
Dinmore is Australia's largest meat processing facility.
JBS says the severe livestock supply has been 'further exacerbated by the market inequity created by the Federal Government's JobKeeper program.'
JBS chief executive officer Brent Eastwood released a statement saying the market conditions mean there will be no work for 600 full time jobs for the foreseeable future.
"However, the difficult-but-necessary action we've taken allows us to preserve 1,150 full time jobs at Dinmore during this challenging period while protecting the long term future of our Dinmore facility and our other Queensland beef processing operations," he said.
"We are acutely aware that this decision will impact many families in the greater Ipswich and southern and western-Brisbane region.
"We are in the process of engaging directly with our workers, alongside the relevant unions with coverage on site, regarding the impact of the decision and we thank them for their constructive approach to those discussions which are continuing.
"Where possible, we will be seeking to offer work to those Dinmore team members impacted by the decision in other areas of our business subject to position availability and skillset."