Sistema's Auckland factory. Photo: Googlemaps
More than 100 workers at Sistema's Auckland factory will lose their jobs by Christmas.
In a statement on Monday morning, the plastic manufacturer said unstable market conditions had forced its hand, as it prepared to cut its 407-person workforce to just 305.
"We have an amazing workforce at Sistema, but we need to make operational changes to ensure the company is in the best position to meet the needs of the current market now and into the future," a spokesperson said.
E tū union director Georgie Dansey said the timing could not be worse.
"If the proposal goes ahead the redundancies will be hitting just before Christmas," she said.
"The feeling in the room was that of stress, uncertainty and a real worry for their families over the Christmas period... And whether they would be coming into 2025 with a job or not."
Dansey said Sistema was offering voluntary redundancies and a four-week pay package to impacted workers.
"[That's] a good thing, but as more and more redundancies are happening we need to see more of a commitment from employers about how we're moving these employees into new jobs.
"What we would like to see is support from employers for employees to do retraining and move into new jobs."
As for why the layoffs were necessary, Dansey felt Sistema's reasoning was fair.
"I think it's a reasonable explanation. I think what's happened is due to inflation, Kiwis are buying less New Zealand-made products because they're more expensive, and so therefore sales are down.
"Increasing inflation means our New Zealand businesses are finding it harder and harder to operate."
She suggested Sistema's sales had dropped by up to 20 percent in the past year. Sistema did not confirm that figure, but described a "challenging macroenvironment".
Dansey feared workers would have a difficult time finding new jobs.
"I think there's a real risk that there will be a gap between when they lose their job and Christmas and when they find another job next year.
"For a low-paid worker, that's the difference between being able to support their family and not."
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