KI Group: Rockingham contractor closes doors leaving 200 people without jobs

About 200 jobs have been lost after a recruitment and labour hire business in Perth’s south shut its doors late on Friday. Administrators from McGrathNicol were called in to the labour hire arm of Rockingham’s KI Group this week. The group’s other businesses including engineering work and equipment hire were not affected. The job losses include staff who had been contracted to clients. The major customer for KI Group’s labour hire business was Veolia, a French multinational with expertise in water, waste management, industrial services and energy. It’s believed KI’s demise followed a multimillion-dollar debt chased by the Australian Taxation Office, which has dramatically moved in the past year to crack down on tax claims following a period of more lax enforcement during the pandemic downturn. Creditors will meet later this month. News of the serious troubles for KI Group comes just days after The West Australian revealed tier one concrete formwork contractor G N Construction had called in administrators from Hall Chadwick. G N was working for Multiplex on Brookfield’s Lot Six tower at Elizabeth Quay. That business’s directors are believed to be considering a deal to rescue the company but the details are unclear as yet.