Job cuts across NZ - Yellow Pages jobs head to Manila

Yesterday was another black day for workers in New Zealand, with redundancy announcements in Palmerston North, Dunedin, and rural Southland.

In Palmerston North, 144 call centre workers were told they will be jobless by August as Yellow Group contractor TeleTech confirmed it would shift its 018 and 0172 directory service to a "global centre of excellence" in the Philippines.

The move to Manila was announced in November 2007 when the American-based outsourcing company won the directory contract from rival Sitel, and follows 110 call-centre redundancies last year.

The affected workers have been on temporary contracts for the past 18 months.

One veteran operator said customers would suffer with the move.

However, Yellow Group chief executive Bruce Cotterill told the Dominion Post staff in Manila would receive comprehensive training "tailored specifically for Kiwi accents, conversations, and geography".

Engineering, Printing, and Manufacturing Union (EPMU) central North Island lead organiser Wayne Ruscoe said he was disappointed that the jobs would go overseas.

"These are 140 to 150 jobs that would be better off done in New Zealand," he said.

In Southland, up to 60 workers are to lose their jobs after Bright Wood New Zealand announced it was closing its Otautau sawmill.

The move, which came as a shock to employees, will result in an indefinite shutdown of operations at the sawmill as early as June 12.

Speaking last night from his home in Oregon, United States, Bright Wood New Zealand president Kevin Stovall said the world had an oversupply of wood products and prices had fallen dramatically.

The company had looked at every alternative in an attempt to keep the mill open but had been seriously considering closing the mill for the past two months, Mr Stovall said.

Cadbury also acted yesterday, confirming more jobs would be cut at its Dunedin plant.

Last month, Cadbury announced a proposal to cut 45 supervisor and leading-hand roles, and create 19 new positions, as part of a management shake-up.

"After careful consideration of all the proposals put forward by our employees, we can now confirm that our original proposal has been accepted," Cadbury spokesman Daniel Ellis said.

The move will result in the loss of 26 jobs, which are part of the 145 redundancies announced by the plant in August.

Seventy redundancies have been confirmed so far.

Those affected by the announcements were asked to apply for one of the 19 new front-line leader positions, with those unable to secure a position to leave the company by the end of the year, he said.

Cadbury is also proposing to cut 17 trade roles, with existing employees encouraged to apply for one of six positions.

- NZPA