Fonterra has responded to revelations members of its Europe-based staff travelled at least 9000 kilometres to attend a meeting at a California resort town by saying the location was chosen because of its proximity to Los Angeles Airport.
NBR has reported up to 200 staff from the co-op's New Zealand milk product division attended the sales and marketing meeting at the tourist and surf mecca Huntington Beach at the time Fonterra was announcing a historic annual loss of $196 million last week.
The NZ Herald reports Fonterra responded to questions about the meeting with a statement.
"NZMP is an international business, with the majority of staff and customers based offshore, including a significant number in Europe, the US and South America," it read.
"Every two years, select members of this team come together for a sales and marketing meeting to review performance and develop strategic plans for the following 12 months.
"The location of the global meeting varies but is always organised near a major airport hub. The venue for this year's meeting was selected due to its proximity to LAX. Bookings for the event were made several months ago to ensure cost efficiencies."
NZMP is the dairy ingredients brand of Fonterra.
The Herald noted Huntington Beach is at least an hour's drive from LAX.
Its report said while it's not unusual for large international businesses like Fonterra to hold conferences overseas, the farmer-owned cooperative is in the public spotlight for its financial performance, number of managers and staff salaries.
Fonterra's annual report last week had showed nearly 6000 staff were paid at least $100,000.
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