By PHILIPPA STEVENSON Agricultural editor
Embattled pipfruit exporter Enza may replace most of its financial management team in restructuring which will cut staff by a third.
The company, under attack over botched foreign exchange transactions which have left a $50 million debt, has advertised for a range of staff including a finance
manager, a treasurer and financial analysts.
Yesterday, Enza spokesman John Walsh said around 30 of the organisation's 100 jobs would disappear.
The exact number of redundancies would not be known until restructuring was completed towards the end of the year.
It includes an already signalled head office shift from Wellington to Hastings.
The job advertisements say "the establishment of a new finance team to be located in Hawkes Bay will be critical to the overall success of Enza".
Mr Walsh said the move to Hastings would be progressive, possibly starting in late September and taking until the end of the year.
Meanwhile, negotiations between Enza and orchardists representative Pipfruit Growers NZ over liability for the foreign exchange debt may resume today. Meetings on Monday and Tuesday were positive, the parties said.
Pipfruit Growers chairman Phil Alison said his group had put a "couple of proposals" to Enza and was awaiting a response.
'We remain concerned that Enza is taking a hard line with the 2002 forex. Their lawyers seem to be the only lawyers who support their case."
Several legal opinions, including one by the Crown Law Office, suggest that Enza's supply contracts with growers do not allow it to deduct $19 million worth of forecast foreign exchange losses from this year's fruit returns.
The watchdog Apple and Pear Board, which has provisionally found that Enza's forerunner, the Apple and Pear Marketing Board, acted imprudently with some forex dealings, may make a final determination next week.
Arbitration between Enza and growers over the issue is moving slowly.
Grower Jonathan Wiltshire said it could be October before the parties met before the arbitrator.
