Cootes to accelerate restructure after missing on out national BP contract.
The restructure of Cootes Transport will be accelerated after it missed out on BP’s national fuel haulage contract.
Cootes’ parent company McAleese confirmed the dangerous goods firm was not shortlisted for the contract that expires on March 31.
It says the announcement “enables the expedited restructure of the Cootes Transport business and the earlier sale or retirement of surplus fleet”.
McAleese plans to sell 190 prime movers and 286 tankers, while $13 million will be spent on redundancies. The company has not confirmed how many jobs are in jeopardy, but many positions hinged on Cootes retaining work with BP.
McAleese says it has had positive discussions about staff taking up positions with companies that secure work with BP. It adds that it is also identifying internal opportunities to reduce the number of redundancies.
The news of Cootes missing out on the BP contract came as New South Wales took steps to remove the company from the State’s roads. It has given Cootes 14 days to explain why the company’s travel rights should not be revoked.
Cootes recently lost work with BP in NSW to rival Linfox, which signed a five-year contract to haul fuel in Sydney and Newcastle from April 1.
McAleese announced in January it would restructure Cootes after it lost contracts with BP and Shell.