The TMA Group, which is currently aiming to buy PMP, will open a new ticket production factory in the Philippines, which will mean the loss of a third of its Melbourne workforce.
The new factory is part of a joint venture between a Philippine government body, the Philippine charity sweepstakes office (PCSO), and the Sydney based label and ticketing manufacturer.
TMA plans to supply tickets for the next 50 years to the government body that spends lottery revenues on health and charities.
In the process 25 of the 75 jobs will be lost from the Bayswater factory in Melbourne, which will not longer print but become a distribution centre.
Anthony Karam, chief executive, TMA says “We are excited about the deal and it is a positive move for the company. Operations in the Philippines will begin in September 2012. Staff made redundant in Melbourne will receive full entitlements.”
Under the deal, the Philippine government funds 91 per cent of the proposed factory, while TMA claims 80 per cent of the profits for a period of 50 years.
Karam dismisses claims and news reports that Philippine politicians are calling on a new PCSO board to cancel the venture. He says, “It’s all propaganda, it’s inaccurate. The deal will go ahead.”
TMA reported profits of $4.8m in 2010-11.
