Woolworths facility upgrade launches amid TWU WA truck driver discord
Woolworths Group’s supply chain and logistics arm Primary Connect unveils a $57 million Adelaide Regional Distribution Centre (DC) upgrade at Gepps Cross.
The footprint of the DC has grown by around 30 per cent to sort and distribute additional volume and an expanded range of products.
Some 3,500 solar panels will help power the facility, which was visited by South Australian premier Steven Marshall and Port Adelaide Enfield mayor Claire Boan.
“The importance of our supply chain infrastructure has come into sharp focus during the pandemic,” Primary Connect MD Paul Graham says.
“With this $57m upgrade, we’re better placed than ever to support the essential food and grocery needs of South Australians.
“This will shorten delivery lead times on thousands of products across the state – allowing us to better respond to any future surge in demand.”
Boan adds: “This significant investment by Woolworths builds on the momentum of positive news stories for the Port Adelaide Enfield region and cements the importance of our city as a logistics hub for all of South Australia.”
Woolworths also extended its partnership with FoodBank South Australia and expects to donate around 250 tonnes of product to help those in need over the next 12 months.
“We’re proud to be the largest donor to FoodBank in Australia and continue to provide pro bono freight to support their important mission,” Graham says.
Primary Connect is also developing a Heathwood DC in southeast Queensland
Meanwhile, the supermarket’s Western Australian operations have come under Transport Workers Union (TWU) scrutiny.
Truck drivers and their supporters protest at the Woolworths WA state head office in Kewdale over changes the union claims will see drivers lose up to $300 a week.
The protest “follows Woolworths decision to change to trucking subcontractors which pay drivers less in overtime and which will put the jobs drivers who have done the work for 20 years at risk”, TWU WA branch secretary Tim Dawson says.
“It is a disgrace that truck drivers are having $300 taken out of their weekly wages and having their jobs put at risk by a company which turned a $1.14 billion profit in just six months,” he adds.
“When truck drivers are put under financial pressure this has a huge impact on safety.
“Wealthy retailers like Woolworths must be 100 per cent certain that their entire supply chain is safe, that risks to safety can be detected and when problems arise that truck drivers can speak out about them without the fear of getting sacked,” Dawson says.