Four have closed in the South Island and two in the north leaving over 960 people redundant, but Silver Fern Farms (SFF) chief executive Keith Cooper said in an interview that he believed the South Island still had five surplus processing chains, given estimates of 2.2 million fewer sheep and lambs available for processing next year due to changing land use.
"We've certainly taken out what we believe we'll be impacted on, but I would say other companies need to address capacity issues," Mr Cooper said.
Reducing capacity did not necessarily mean plant closure, he said, but reducing shifts or reducing the amount of overtime worked.
Yesterday's announcement the Belfast-based plant would close means the loss of 225 processing jobs and another 24 in administration, but Mr Cooper said about 70 of those could be redeployed at a lamb cutting operation being retained and at the nearby Islington and Belfast plants.
The need for significant capital investment in the Canterbury plant's effluent and environmental systems, limited development options and proximity to residential areas, made the plant "less tenable than other processing options."
Its boning room facilities would remain to meet demand for chilled lamb but as Canterbury was SFF's most northern works, sheep and lamb from the north of the island would now be processed at the Fairton works near Ashburton.
The announcement marked the end of SFF's Project Rightsize, designed to align processing capacity with supply, enhance financial performance and reposition the business under its new Silver Fern Farms brand.
Mr Cooper said operational savings from Project Rightsize would save the company "tens of millions of dollars," helping it turn around a $40 million loss last financial year.
Mr Cooper said this move removed an impedient to merger talks with the Alliance Group, which rejected a merger last year over concerns about SFF's excess processing capacity and debt.
No recent new discussions have been held and Mr Cooper said nothing was likely to happen until SFF shareholders voted in September on a proposal by rural servicing company PGG Wrightson to buy 50% of the company for $220 million.
"These decisive actions coupled to the proposed partnership with PGG Wrightson and commitment of additional capital of $220 million, should now address the concerns Alliance had with a merger last year."
