More than 70 jobs lost in sudden closure of town's sawmill

The shock closure of a sawmill in south-east Victoria has put 73 workers out of a job and left the local community devastated.

Staff at the Associated Kiln Driers (AKD) sawmill at Yarram, in Gippsland, yesterday learnt the site was closing just weeks before Christmas.

AKD is the country's biggest softwood producer and has a total Australian workforce of 1000 people.

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But the Gippsland sawmill has been hit hard by a slowdown in the construction sector and increased operating costs, the company's chief executive Shane Vicary said.

"To remain a sustainable and competitive Australian business, we are adapting to market conditions, simplifying our operations and strengthening the core business at our four major sawmilling sites, which continue to produce the full suite of structural softwood products," he said.

"Having operated in regional communities for 70 years, the significance of our departure from Yarram is not lost on us.

"We understand how important our operations have been to the fabric of this region and we are committed to working with local stakeholders in Gippsland to reduce the impact of the closure where reasonably possible."

Local MP Danny O'Brien said the sudden news of the closure was a devastating blow for the community, which had a jobless rate above the state average.

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"Seventy-three jobs lost in a town the size of Yarram is enormous," he told radio station TRFM.

"These are local families, local businesses and a whole community that will feel the impact of this closure immediately.

In a social media post, the Timber, Furnishing and Textiles Union said it was lobbying other timber mills to take some of the impacted workers who lost their jobs at Yarram.

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