Up to 30 drivers sacked from Shell, as the fuel company outsources transport across Australia
By Brad Gardner
As much as 30 truck drivers may be sacked from Shell after it announced plans to outsource its fuel transport operations across Australia.
The fuel manufacturer will no longer operate its own fleet in eight regions spread throughout Western Australia, New South Wales, Queensland and South Australia.
Shell spokesman Paul Zennaro confirms to ATN third-party carriers will take over Shell’s Western Australian transport operations at Esperance, Geraldton, Kalgoorlie and North Fremantle.
Furthermore, Shell will cease NSW operations in Birkenhead and Broken Hill, with contractors taking over in Port Augusta in South Australia and Cairns in Queensland.
“It is anticipated that less than 30 positions across the country will be made redundant but every effort will be made to redeploy staff where possible,” Zennaro says.
The move is part of Shell’s plans to restructure its logistics operations, with Zennaro calling it “the result of changing business needs” to suit customer requirements and match services to Shell’s products.
A source within the fuel industry yesterday told ATN the drivers would be sacked or re-deployed by September 1.
The news follows confirmation that Toll Holdings will take over Shell’s Newport terminal in Melbourne and its Geelong refinery after out-bidding Kalari for the contract.
As reported by ATN, Cootes Transport retained its contract with Shell in Western Australia.
Scott’s subsidiary Northfuels added the top-end of Western Australia to its portfolio, which includes Shell operations in the Northern Territory.
“We have retained our current scope in the Northern Territory and we have received a letter of intent, which was to expand our portfolio in the Western Australian region,” a spokesman for Northfuels says.
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