Manufacturing giant Downer has begun recruiting workers to produce Queensland’s next-generation trains, with applications now open for 300 jobs at the company’s new facility. The factory, being built at Torbanlea on the Fraser Coast, is set to produce 65 locomotives between 2027 and 2032, aligning with the Brisbane Olympic Games.
However, employees facing redundancies at Downer’s nearby Maryborough site have been warned that there is no guarantee they will secure positions at the new facility. More than 120 workers from the Maryborough plant, which has been affected by a decline in expected work volume, have been told they cannot assume their applications will be successful.
Initially, in May, Manufacturing Minister Dale Last indicated that workers at the Maryborough site would be given priority for jobs at the new Torbanlea plant. But on Tuesday, he clarified that those workers, who were informed about the new opportunities “a couple of weeks ago,” would have to go through the same selection process as all other applicants.
When asked whether any job cuts had already occurred at Maryborough, Mr. Last said, “The jobs at the Maryborough Service Delivery Centre were the subject of a private contract between Downer and industry, but those affected workers have been given a couple of weeks to apply and express their interest for these Torbanlea jobs going forward.”
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