Qube Logistics (Rail) on Thursday advised employees that it was closing its Sloane Street centre in response to “a significant and ongoing downturn in business.” The depot will close on Friday, May 18.

A worker, who wished to remain anonymous, said the announcement had “come out of left field,” despite the company shedding eight jobs in February.

“Everyone is in disbelief...The whole depot closing has thrown us big time,” he said.

Fifteen permanent and eight casual drivers will be out of work, according to the Rail, Tram and Bus Union. The company says it is 15 permanents and five casuals.

Qube Holdings Limited corporate affairs director Paul White blamed the collapse in last year’s grain harvest.

“(As a result), regional train services have dropped by approximately 40 per cent compared to the previous year,” he said.

“This has meant we have been overstaffed with train crew for several months at a number of locations in NSW.

“Qube conducted a full review of the business and has been working to avoid redundancies for as long as possible. Last month the company paid out 650 hours to Goulburn crews for time that they physically did no work. That is not unusual and is obviously unsustainable.”

He said in an effort to minimise the impact, the company was making available five full time positions in Sydney. They required a range of skill sets and qualifications and he was encouraging Goulburn employees to apply.

It’s understood three workers are considering this option.

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Qube hauls export grain and general freight through the region. It offered redundancies to workers in February following the downturn but it also emerged that the company had dropped a log haulage contract from International Primary Products, based at the Goulburn rail hub.

Currently, it is running two grain trains and another hauling cement through Goulburn.

Asked whether the company had done everything possible to secure new contracts, Mr White said Qube was “constantly pursuing opportunities” and had tendered for new work throughout the State. 

An employee told The Post that workers had been forced to take leave over the past two to three months.

“We helped them out and then they turn around and do this. We’ve come out of it pretty poor. We feel like we’ve been lied to since October,” he said.

Mr White said Qube would meet all its obligations regarding entitlements and provide documentation to help employees access government payments.

At the same time, he acknowledged paying Victorian crews retention bonuses, rumoured to be $6000 to $10,000 each, over two years. This was “to reward staff for their ongoing commitment to the Victorian business in what is a very competitive labour market.”

The Rail, Tram and Bus Union described the job losses as devastating news for workers and their families, and for Goulburn. 

”In a close-knit region like Goulburn, the loss of such a large number of jobs will hit the town hard,” RTBU loco division secretary Bob Hayden said.

“The workers are devastated,” he said.

“Whilst it hasn’t come as a complete shock, due to limited work since last year and a round of redundancies earlier this year, no amount of warning can really soften the blow of losing your job.”

Mr Hayden said the union was working closely with employees, helping them to find work in the area. A representative will be onsite on Tuesday.

“The company says that it has done everything possible to avoid it getting to this point. Given that we’re talking about people’s livelihoods here, we seriously hope that is actually the case,” Mr Hayden said.

“Management says this has come about as a result of a downturn in the industry in the region. Without having access to the books, it’s hard to say how true or not that is. Could this closure have been avoided if the company had actively pursued more contracts if they were available? We can only speculate. All I can say is that for the sake of the workers who are now out of a job, you’d certainly hope so.  

“We will work with the company to mitigate job losses wherever possible including suggesting that job swaps be looked at across the whole company.

”This isn’t just 23 jobs; this is 23 families who are now dealing with the harsh reality that they no longer have an income.”

Mr Hayden said he had no reason to believe Qube wouldn’t honour workers entitlements but the union would be keeping a close eye.

Qube has been operating its Goulburn depot since 2010. Mr White told The Post the company would review future operations in the region “based on work requirements at the time.”