The Boral Plywood factory at North Ipswich is set to close down during July.

The Boral Plywood factory at North Ipswich is set to close down during July. Sarah Harvey

AN IPSWICH factory will shut its doors next month, leaving 164 workers out of a job.

Building and construction materials company Boral yesterday confirmed its plywood plant at North Ipswich would be closing for good, just one month after laying off 33 employees.

The company said pressure from foreign imports, the high Aussie dollar and damage the plant sustained in January's floods forced them to make the tough decision.

A number of employees said they were bitterly disappointed at the decision – with some still recovering from the floods themselves – but said it came as no surprise.

It is another blow for manufacturing jobs in Ipswich.

In the past 12 months more than 380 jobs have been lost from the sector.

In a statement to The Queensland Times, Boral Timber executive general manager Bryan Tisher said the company was disappointed they had to make the decision to close.

“The business has been under pressure from imported products for some time and the recent strengthening of the Australian dollar, coupled with the impact of Queensland's flooding, have made this decision necessary,” Mr Tisher said.

Mr Tisher said the floods had wreaked havoc on the equipment and facilities at the plant.

He said veneering operations would continue until June 24, with other work to be phased out during July.

Employees who are unable to be redeployed in other operations will be entitled to a redundancy package, including full pay during the notice period.

One worker who wished to remain anonymous told the QT that the closure was a kick in the guts for the employees, who would be fighting for similar jobs in the Ipswich area.

“Some of us have lost everything in the floods. This is the last thing we need,” they said.

Ipswich Mayor Paul Pisasale said it was a tough loss and he hoped jobs could be found for the axed employees.

“I'm sick and tired of losing manufacturing jobs from Ipswich and Australia,” Cr Pisasale said.

Australian Manufacturing Workers Union state secretary Andrew Dettmer said not enough was being done to protect jobs.

Boral has established a team consisting of Boral resources, Ipswich employers, employment services and state and federal agencies, to provide assistance to the 164 employees affected to find alternative employment.

Yesterday's announcement came after a number of other manufacturing closures in Ipswich in the past 12 months.

Last year Australian Hardboards closed, axing 145 jobs.

About 120 jobs were also lost last year from engineering business Bradken.

Kruger Enterprises at Dinmore, a business that made handles for tools, shovels, picks and rakes, also closed last year.

And at QR National's Redbank workshops, 115 workers took up redundancies earlier this year.