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The axing of a third of the staff at Mt Ruapehu's skifields is sending reverberations across the region.
About 135 people have lost their jobs, as one of the warmest, wettest winters on record leaves the slopes at Whakapapa and Turoa almost bare of snow.
Ruapehu Alpine Lifts, which runs the two skifields, says Turoa is now closed and will require a significant snow dump to reopen.
Photo: Unsplash / Stas Kulesh
Ruapehu District Deputy Mayor Karen Ngatai spoke to Susie Ferguson.