He acknowledged the Christchurch head office had shed some staff, but said many senior managers remained while mineworkers had lost their jobs and their homes and had to move elsewhere for work.
Solid Energy had undergone so much upheaval, it begged the question what was the company's strategy, he said.
Solid Energy has shed about 480 staff so far. It is warning more jobs will go at Stockton opencast mine unless workers agree to change from 12-hour to 10-hour shifts to cut production 20 per cent.
Mr O'Connor said he realised Stockton profits had been required for other Solid Energy projects, but the company could not "just rape and pillage a cash cow''.
He believed coal prices would rise again and said one of the challenges was to ensure coal communities benefited more from Solid Energy's mines. He applauded the Buller District Council's royalties for regions project.