Cheap imports see bed factory jobs go

Restructuring will result in job losses. Photo / Brett Phibbs

New Zealand Comfort Group, which operates the Sleepyhead bed manufacturing company, says a restructuring of its Dunlop Living furniture and bed-making business will result in job losses.

The company acquired Avondale-based Dunlop Living, which employs 438 staff, this month.

New Zealand Comfort Group general manager Chris Taylor said Dunlop Living's furniture division had been devastated by competition from cheap imports and the global economic downturn and its bed manufacturing would be shifted to Sleepyhead's plant at Otahuhu.

Taylor said the furniture division could not be supported as a "long-term sustainable business model".

Representatives of New Zealand Comfort Group met with Dunlop Living staff yesterday to let them know how they would be affected by the restructuring of the business.

"While there will inevitably be some job losses as a result of the future plans, we will be working wherever possible to find positions for Dunlop Living staff within Sleepyhead," Taylor said. "Dunlop Living staff have faced increasing uncertainty over the last period and we have wanted to let them know as soon as possible about what's needed to build on the opportunities for growth which Sleepyhead has identified in the business."

He said the number of jobs affected would not be known for several weeks.

"As a Kiwi business that is passionate about investing in New Zealand manufacturing, we regret any losses of manufacturing jobs," Taylor said. "However, for the long-term growth and success of our industry, we have to be prepared to take some tough decisions now."

Rachel Mackintosh, a director of organising at the Engineering, Printing and Manufacturing Union (EPMU), said the union had "an issue" with New Zealand Comfort Group's processes around the restructuring.

"It looks like they are steam-rolling ahead with the process without putting a proposal before making decisions," she said. "We might be in some sort of conflict with the company about the process that they're using."

Mackintosh said an EPMU organiser would be on site at Dunlop Living today to offer support to its members.

Sleepyhead is the largest privately-owned mattress, foam and carpet underlay manufacturer in Australasia, and has been owned by the Turner family since 1935.

The Turner family was valued at $110 million in this year's National Business Review Rich List.

Furniture & Cabinet Making Association of New Zealand chairman Blair McKolskey said this week that the industry had struggled to survive the past few years.

"The industry has had its back against the wall as we battle against imported furniture combined with the effect of a world recession, which has affected sales across the board," he said.

McKolskey said that in the past four years the number of people employed by the local furniture industry had fallen from 8500 to 6000, while the number of companies had dropped from 1800 to 1300.

Fitec, the national forest and wood industry training organisation, this week unveiled a "seal of quality" it hopes will promote New Zealand-made products to local consumers and bolster this country's manufacturers against the tide of cheap imports, mainly from Asia.

The seal will be attached to products as a tag or sticker, with its use conditional on at least 50 per cent of the manufacturer's employees having a recognised trade qualification, or being in training.