MARY SHANAHAN
Napier faces more bad news on the employment front, with Design Spun looking at making up to 20 staff redundant at its textile plant in Onekawa.
Between them, the closures of Medallion Foods Ltd and British American Tobacco (NZ ) Ltd's factory at Ahuriri will cost the city a further
240 jobs.
Design Spun's general manager Brendan Jackson said New Zealand's textile industry faced the most difficult trading conditions in 15 years and the company needed to make significant changes to adapt to the current business environment.
It was looking at scaling back on-site manufacturing, focusing more on out-sourcing raw materials and the finishing of yarns.
"Some on-site manufacturing would still be maintained for certain sectors."
Mr Jackson said the company was consulting staff about the proposal, seeking feedback as part of the process.
If the proposal went ahead, up to 20 employees would lose their jobs. The company would do whatever it could to assess affected staff.
Mr Jackson said the warm winter had contributed to the downturn in textile sales, but the level of cheap imports was the major impact.
New Zealand had gone from being pro "buy New Zealand-made" to a country of consumers who would buy cheap goods. He did not believe the difficulties applied only to the textile trade.
"Many other industries, particularly manufacturing, are experiencing challenging times, and the rosy economic picture political leaders would have us believe does not reflect reality."
