MELBOURNE, March 10 (Reuters) - The administrators of Australia's Queensland Nickel Pty Ltd said on Thursday that the majority of the refinery's employees will have their employment terminated on Friday.
Administrators FTI Consulting, which were called into the struggling plant in January, were sidelined this week, when an affiliated unit of plant owner and politician - Clive Palmer Queensland Nickel Sales - took back management control.
"Queensland Nickel Sales Pty Ltd, the newly appointed manager of the Refinery, may offer current employees of Queensland Nickel Pty Ltd employment but the Administrators are currently unaware of the terms or timing of those offers," FTI Consulting said in a statement.
"The terminations of employment and uncertainty regarding the new offers is a deeply regrettable situation, although unavoidable given the Administrators no longer have operational control of the Refinery."