PORT of Tauranga has been forced to cut back Tauranga staff working for its subsidiary Quality Marshalling (QM) after losing out on major tenders.
However, chief executive Mark Cairns says its Northport business has grown, and he is positive about the subsidiary's long-term prospects.
He noted that the $34 million investment in QM had been funded out of the $38 million gain the port made in selling its share of stevedoring company C3.
The port tried in 2012 to buy out the 50 per cent share held by Australian transport firm Asciano because it was unhappy with C3's financial performance. It offered Asciano $70 million but instead, under a "shootout clause" of the shareholder agreement, Asciano exercised its right to acquire the port's shares at the same $70 million price.
QM has been operating since 1991 and is mostly focused on marshalling forestry products.