The axing of 22 jobs from the Port of Newcastle will not affect the long-term creation of an automated container terminal and are a result of a significant downturn in trade volumes across several years.
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Last year's drop in price of the port's primary export, coal, was the main driver in the value of trade dropping 32 per cent or $23 billion.
The state's grain exporters have been eagerly awaiting the removal of container restrictions at the Port, a process which began in 2022, but is still awaiting a determination. Port of Newcastle CEO Craig Carmody said considerable pressure has been placed on the port's financial performance.
"For several years, Port of Newcastle has experienced a decline or lower than normal import and export volumes than it has in the past or forecast," he said.
"La Nina, high coal prices, along with rising interest rates and inflation, have all contributed to reduced revenue, which the business carried and attempted to alleviate through cost reduction measures.
"Ultimately, business conditions did not improve, which led to the recently announced redundancies."
Legistlation was passed by the NSW parliament in 2022 to remove container restrictions and allow Port of Newcastle's to develop a large container terminal.
Mr Carmody said the current conditions do not impact operations at the Port's Multipurpose Terminal, which currently handles container and project cargo.
"While we await IPARTS determination as to the value of a one-off compensation payment to be made to the State, which would complete the Extinguishment of Liability Act 2022 process, Port of Newcastle has continued to pursue new container trade options," he said.
"Neptune Pacific Direct Line operates a monthly Trans-Tasman service to Port of Newcastle, which is facilitated by our mobile harbour cranes and will continue to grow over the course of 2024, before we enter the Asian market in 2025.
"Current planning approval for the Multipurpose Terminal footprint can accommodate 350,000 containers a year, which will accommodate current growth projections for over five years.
"The construction timeline of the container terminal will coincide with growth trajectory and reaching capacity of the current planning footprint."
