The firm soon to enforce rules around parking, animals and noise across Whangarei and Kaipara cannot confirm whether the 22 people currently carrying out the work will keep their jobs.
Whangarei District Council issued its regulatory services contract, worth about $1.1 million a year, to American-owned company Armourguard, ousting the locally-owned Environmental Northland (ENL) which has held the contract for 20 years.
ENL employed 18 full-time staff, four part-time, and two casuals in summer.
Armourguard regional manager Warwick Taylor said "many" of these staff would be retained, but could not yet confirm whether any would lose their jobs.
"This is still being worked through with individual employees. We have no fixed timeframe at this stage," he added.