NZ wool spinner likely to cut jobs at Oamaru plant

Summit Wool Spinners, New Zealand’s biggest independent spinner, is likely to cut jobs at its Oamaru yarn plant in New Zealand.

Hit by low demand, the company, one of the biggest employers in Oamaru, is considering reducing production.

Although the company decreased the work hours of its 250 employees since Christmas, it failed to save enough to balance the loss in demand, said Phillip Howe, Production Manager of Summit.

He said that presently the company is reviewing its options, and would shortly start consultations with representatives of workers, before making any final announcement.

A few years ago, following announcement of the company’s restructuring plans, 60 employees accepted voluntary redundancy, while rest of them accepted reduced shifts due to the introduction of the Government’s nine-day fortnight scheme at the yarn plant.

Summit Wool Spinners supplies carpets and rug yarn to local as well as foreign markets.

Local farmers and entrepreneurs started the woollen mill in 1881, which was later on sold by Alliance Textiles to Sumitomo Corporation owned Summit Wool Spinners in 1992.

For past some time, the company has been enduring a slump in orders, Mr. Howe said, and added that high prices of wool and appreciation of New Zealand dollar against the US dollar are making the market tougher.