Carter Holt Harvey to cut up to 164 jobs at Marsden Point, union says

Wednesday, 10 June 2020

Up to 164 jobs will go after timber company Carter Holt Harvey confirmed it would go ahead with a restructure at its Marsden Point plant. (File photo)

Timber company Carter Holt Harvey is going ahead with a 'brutal' restructure, cutting up to 164 jobs in Northland, the union representing its workers says.

An E tū spokeswoman said Carter Holt Harvey (CHH) had confirmed it would carry out a proposal announced in May, which could see more than two-thirds of workers made redundant at its laminated veneer lumber (LVL) factory at Marsden Point.

Under the proposal, production jobs at the factory would be cut from 241 to 77 as part of CHH's plan to abandon export sales and focus on domestic supply only.

E tū was unable to provide any further detail, the spokeswoman said.

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CHH has been approached for comment.

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In May, chief executive Prafull Kesha said the proposed restructure reflected CHH's serious concern that the export part of the LVL business was unprofitable and the business as it currently operated could not continue.

He said while total closure was being considered and remained an option, cutting out LVL's export business could be more viable for its long term survival.

In a statement released on Friday, E tū said workers were devastated by the proposal.

Despite LVL receiving around $2.2 million in wage subsidies in the first week of April, workers were forced to use, on average, two weeks of their annual leave during the level 4 coronavirus lockdown.

Some workers, who had little or no leave, now faced a zero or negative leave balance and redundancy.

E tū organiser Annie Tothill said the timing of the proposed cuts was “brutal”.

“The harvesting of workers’ leave means some workers will have nothing left of their leave balance to help support a period of redundancy.

“It is in everyone’s best interest that the wage subsidy is used as intended – for the workers – and we urge Carter Holt Harvey to use the 12-week subsidy to cover the cost of reinstating all that leave to all their workers now.”