Almost 60 employees of the Australian petfood manufacturing chain  Bush's Pet Foods  lost their jobs February 12, after the company announced the closure of its Pyramid Hill canning factory, according to an  article  by  The Advertiser (Bendigo) .

Geoff Dennis, Bush's Pet Foods human resources director, said the decision to close the Pyramid Hill facility was based on a number of factors outside the company's control.

He said the changing global economy had brought a number of pressures to bear on the business.

"There has been a major escalation in world steel prices that has flowed on to significant can price increases. The world financial crisis has also resulted in a downturn in business, in both domestic and international markets."

Dennis said as a result of the world financial crisis, a number of important major contracts had been lost.