Having earlier this year announced an end to its wool trading arm and risk management desk, Elders has now declared it will not only reduce its staff by 140, or 5pc, but close its German and Turkish topmaking plants as well.

Elders Rural Services managing director Mike Guerin said it was time the company stuck to what it was good at and to re-invest in its business strengths.

"We haven't invested enough in the core of Elders and the slow decline in the market share of Elders in the last few years in areas such as wool and livestock arguably show we have not invested well enough there nor recognised the changing needs of rural producers."

Mr Guerin said the wool processing facilities in Germany and Turkey had not made money for some time.

"With the high cost of labour and equipment there was no way we could continue topmaking in Germany and Turkey," he said.

"Almost the entire topmaking industry has moved to China, with only a few processors in Eastern Europe and Vietnam."

The plants will be sold, ending 125 years of wool processing at BWK Germany.

Australian Wool Industries Secretariat executive director Peter Morgan said it was a sad day for the industry and the announcement suggested wool did not have the importance at Elders as it once did.

"We have lost so many iconic and proud names from the industry recently: Japanese trading house Itochu last year, European processor Dewavrin earlier this year and now BWK," Mr Morgan said.

"It is hard to see where this will end but it has to sometime."

Topmakers have been consistently closing down since the early 2000s and the early stage processing of wool is now almost entirely found within China.

In Elders 'Agenda for change' document this week, exiting the two plants was expected to cost the company $110 million.

"The plant is of very high quality and we are hopeful it will find a new home," Mr Guerin added.