Job losses at Tauranga's Event Cinemas, fears of more than 100 nationwide

About five Tauranga people are without work after a restructure at one of New Zealand's largest cinema chains, Event Cinemas. Photo / File

Five Tauranga people are without work after a restructure at one of New Zealand's largest cinema chains, Event Cinemas.

About 60 other workers nationwide from the chain had also lost their jobs, as Event slashed staff hours in conjunction with jobs losses to reduce its roster by an average of 50 per cent.

Unite Union's cinema organiser Hannah Shelton Agar said it had confirmation of about 65 union members who had lost work, but she expected the number to likely be more than 100 as not all were members.

Event Cinemas would not confirm the total number of jobs that had been lost in Tauranga alone or nationwide, but said that 50 of the 65 Unite members had requested voluntary redundancy.

In Tauranga, workers had been cut from both the Tauranga Crossing and the Tauranga Central branches, while the Mount Maunganui chain had shut its doors, Agar said.

She said the union was "devastated" as "jobs could have been saved" if the cinema had taken the second wage subsidy scheme for all employees.

"By the end of the second wage subsidy, cinemas will be getting back to usual with blockbuster content to show. Redundancies may not even have been necessary if they had just waited."

Many of the employees were part of a "loyal workforce" who had not been unemployed for a "very long time", she said.

"They're gutted and heartbroken."

An Event Cinemas spokesman said, "Event cinemas will be impacted beyond the 8-week wage subsidy extension period."

"This is due to the local immediate impact of Covid-19 and the global impact of Covid-19 with the delayed release of major films."

He said they needed to reset their operations as a result and the restructure process was a "full and fair one" with no decisions made prior to the feedback period.

Last month Carmen Switzer, Event Cinemas NZ general manager, told NZME the business was restructuring and "entering into a consultation process with staff and the unions to reduce its workforce, in line with the current and future business requirements".

Event runs its own branded cinemas as well as the Rialto chain.

The chain had received $2.7 million in wage subsidies and was expected to apply for the wage subsidy extension but only for staff remaining after the redundancies and cuts in hours had taken effect.

The cinema industry had been hard hit by Covid-19 with global production and release of blockbuster content on hold, Agar said.

"Hoyts and Reading cinemas are its largest competitors and have so far not indicated they are seeking to restructure or lay off staff.