Staff at one of the region's biggest employers have reportedly been walking off the job because of payroll mistakes.

A new air service between Hawke's Bay and the prime South Island wine region of Marlborough is being considered by top-of-the-south provincial carrier Sounds Air.

News of more job losses at Dannevirke's Canterbury Spinners woollen mill, owned by Godfrey Hirst, is another blow to the fragile local economy, Tararua District mayor Roly Ellis says.