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There will be a net loss of 60 jobs as Ballance Agri-Nutrients stops manufacturing at Mount Maunganui.
Chief executive Kelvin Wickham said the decision was due to oversupply and regulatory constraints.
The company will support affected staff with redeployment opportunities and career transition support.
The boss of Ballance Agri-Nutrients has revealed how “difficult” it was to tell staff there would be a net loss of 60 jobs as it stops manufacturing in Mount Maunganui.
Ballance chief executive Kelvin Wickham told the Bay of Plenty Times there was “no enjoyment” in having to make this“very difficult” announcement.
“I really feel for all those impacted by this decision, including their wider families and the company as a whole.”
Wickham’s comments come after Ballance confirmed plans to stop manufacturing single superphosphate at Mount Maunganui, likely by the end of November.
The company would continue utilising the Hewletts Rd site and its strategic location near the Port of Tauranga for nutrient storage and distribution, and its national support office.
The jobs impacted were mainly trades staff positions, including maintenance roles, electricians, fitters, and engineers, plus administration, laboratory and support roles.
“In the end, despite considerable efforts and the consultation process, we could not find an alternative option to address all the concerns the business raised, including the oversupply of this product in New Zealand and the ever-increasing regulatory constraints.
“And it would have been a multimillion investment to try and keep the manufacturing plant operating, and it has become increasingly difficult to overcome those hurdles.”
Ballance Agri-Nutrients chief executive Kelvin Wickham speaks out after the loss of 60 jobs.
Wickham said the company was now moving to begin a process to wind down the manufacturing facilities and continue to support the impacted staff through the transition process.
“We recognise the significance of this change for our co-operative and the impacted staff, and will be supporting them by offering any suitable redeployment opportunities at Ballance as well as career transition support.”
He said the timeline to stop manufacturing had been extended by three months after reviewing feedback from impacted staff.
Wickham said impacted staff would be entitled to redundancy in line with their employment contracts if not redeployed into new roles.
He said affected staff had been invited to put their names forward for available roles at the Hewletts Rd site and vacancies across the company’s nationwide network.
“People had already been applying for positions, including at Ballance’s Awarua site in Invercargill, and we are making sure any vacancies are made more visible to affected staff.”
Wickham said there was also a voluntary redundancy option, and staff who wanted to be considered for this option needed to put their names forward by the end of July.
“Obviously, we don’t have to accept those requests, and anyone applying for new positions will need to be interviewed and go through a selection process.”
Wickham confirmed at least two of the 60 affected staff were on sponsored work visas, but said those staff would also be offered the opportunity to be redeployed into other roles.
He said it was a “big call” to transition from a near-70-year history of manufacturing in Mount Maunganui, but the changes were necessary to set up the co-operative well for the future.
Wickham said the changes enabled the co-operative to have “more agility” in sourcing nutrients, finding new ways to provide value to its 1600 shareholders, and exploring more blendable fertilisers and other densified phosphate products such as triple super phosphate and diammonium phosphate.
“We’re seeing much more efficient and effective use of nutrients delivering higher productivity off a much lighter footprint.
“And a big focus for the co-operative is being able to support our shareholders with the technology, products and services that support those aims,” he said.
Wickham said nutrients remained a vital part of driving New Zealand’s economic prosperity through food and fibre exports, with around 41% of the country’s agricultural exports enabled by fertiliser.
“To maintain supply, we secure nutrients from multiple sources and will continue to manufacture phosphate and urea at our Invercargill and Taranaki sites as well as imported products from offshore.”
The Bay of Plenty Times approached the Maritime Union of NZ for comment, as 14 of its members were affected by the company’s decision.
The E tu union and the Aviation and Marine Engineers Association also have a small number of members who work at the site.
Sandra Conchie is a senior journalist at the Bay of Plenty Times and Rotorua Daily Post. She has been a journalist for 24 years and mainly covers police, court and other justice stories, as well as general news. She has been a Canon Media Awards regional/community reporter of the year.
