About 160 of the 350 workers at Silver Fern Farms' Waikato beef slaughter plant at Te Aroha are likely to only be paid a minimum wage until Christmas.
The remaining 190 workers will be offered fulltime work at the company's Pacific plant at Hastings, 316km away in Hawke's Bay, where the
company will start up a night shift.
"We are offering 190 positions at our Pacific plant in Hastings, on full pay plus an accommodation allowance," said chief executive Keith Cooper. "They are employed under seasonal contracts, which means that if work is not available, they are seasonally 'laid off'."
The Te Aroha meatworks - which processes 100,000 animals a year - was razed by a fire late on Friday night.
Investigators think the plant, near Te Aroha, was set alight by sparks from a saw being used by a contractor to cut through exterior cladding.
