GWA SHEDS 10% OF WORKFORCE

GWA Group Limited (ASX: GWA) has announced 10 per cent of its workforce will be made redundant, in line with company restructuring.

The supplier of fixtures and fittings to households and commercial premises will phase out its Norwood plastics operation in Adelaide over the next three years, and also cease production at Wetherill Park in Sydney by the end of the year, its vitreous china manufacturing facility.

This will result in 164 redundancies; 76 and 88 positions respectively in a workforce of 1,671 across Australia.

It follows news of GWA’s divestment of non-core businesses, Dux Hot Water and Brivis Heating and Cooling.

The company announced in a statement to the ASX today that it will transition to sourcing plastics and vitreous china products from established overseas suppliers, and does not expect this change to incur any supply shortages.

Furthermore, GWA says the current inventory will cover the transition to overseas sourcing of Wetherill Park products.

The redundancies and any asset write-downs or costs associated with the facility closures, along with GWA’s investment in a new

Innovation and Technology Centre in Sydney, is expected to result in an approximate profit this financial year of $29 million.

Although, GWA announced it will impact the current financial year and the company’s ability to pay fully franked ordinary dividends to shareholders in the current financial year.

GWA was trading down .98 per cent following the announcement at $2.53 per share.