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The nation's largest state science company, AgResearch, will lose the equivalent of 18 full-time scientific staff members, as part of efforts to make up a $5 million deficit.
AgResearch last month asked its scientific staff to consider voluntary severances because its reductions in capital expenditure had not made sufficient savings.
The institute's general manager of applied biotechnologies, Jimmy Suttie, said yesterday that 25 people had accepted full and partial voluntary severance deals, making up savings of $1.1 million.
Mr Suttie said AgResearch would now conduct targeted reviews next month in a move to save a further $1.3 million, and there might be redundancies.
AgResearch chief executive Andrew West - who this week was awarded the national science academy's Thomson Medal "for outstanding and inspirational leadership in the management of science" - has said he needs to save about 3.5 per cent of the company's total annual salary bill.
All decisions should be made by the middle of next month.
Public Service Association's Richard Wagstaff has described the work done by AgResearch as crucial to the economy, lifting productivity in the pastoral farming industry.
- NZPA
