F&P blames factory closure on cheap Thai labour

Cheap labour in Thailand was behind a decision to lay off more than 300 Australian workers at a fridge factory in Queensland, said New Zealand-based company Fisher & Paykel Appliances.

Yesterday's closure of the 20-year-old plant comes just weeks after clothing maker Pacific Brands announced it would shift 1850 jobs to China.

Fisher & Paykel vice-president of investor relations Paul Brockett said Thailand's cheap labour was a key factor in the decision, flagged a year ago, to close the plant which employed 340 people to build 120,000 fridges a year.

"It's hard to compete when your main opposition is already operating in these low-cost labour countries."

Low-skilled Thai workers are paid about A$2 ($2.47) an hour, 10 times less than an Australian worker in the same job.

Fisher & Paykel closed its Dunedin plant this week, and in April 2007 announced that it would shift some production to Thailand, laying off 350 workers in Auckland.

- AAP