Sealord is proposing to close its coated fish factory in Nelson affecting 79 jobs.
A total of 79 permanent roles are proposed to be disestablished, comprising of 57 factory roles and 22 management or office-based roles that support the factory, the company said on Friday.
Sealord also announced a proposal for changes to the Nelson Site Collective Agreement that covers union workers in land-based operations including its wetfish factory, cold store, dry store and by-products plant.
The announcement follows a 12-month review of Sealord’s business, with expenditure carefully examined, office-based salaried roles disestablished or not replaced, and budgets significantly cut.
Impacted staff are being encouraged to provide feedback on the proposals, which will be reviewed before any final decisions are made.
Sealord is the last significant supplier of frozen coated fish products manufactured in New Zealand, says chief executive Doug Paulin.
“Many of our coated factory staff have worked at Sealord for much of their working life and the team is like one big whānau. Our priority at this time is providing support for our people as we work through the process,” he says.
“Unfortunately, like many manufacturing businesses in New Zealand that have been forced to close in recent times, we are similarly affected by hugely challenging economic factors.
“Increasing operating costs, particularly labour and electricity, plus freight, exacerbated by requests for higher supermarket margins, means we must reconsider the way we manage our retail frozen branded business. Despite the best efforts and mahi of our workers, we may have to exit the frozen coated fish business that we have built up over many years.”
"In addition, we’re reviewing land-based factory operations as we look at how we can reduce operating costs and improve the economic sustainability of production in Nelson. As part of this, we are hoping to agree changes to the Collective Agreement that will help keep Nelson land-based manufacturing operating.”
Sealord is investigating the possibility of processing and packaging coated products using Sealord-caught fish, outside New Zealand in order to be able to continue to offer its coated frozen fish range in New Zealand and Australia.
The proposals do not affect Sealord’s deep sea fishing operations, nor its operating model for its canned tuna products. Consultation with impacted coated factory staff closes on 26 September.
Sealord will consider the feedback and expects to make a decision on both proposals in October.
