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Further job reductions in Waikato at Solid Energy
were announced today.
The company told its Waikato staff
that it's proposing to reduce management,
support services and workforce roles
as part of the company's continued response
to the depressed global market.
Peata Melbourne with this report.
Poor market prices and high debt levels.
Solid Energy's doors will remain open,
but the news is still bleak.
In four weeks the staff will be told
who no longer has a job.
Mining staff like Bill
have been put on four weeks of full pay for the meantime,
and will work on maintenance shifts.
For some locals, two generations of workers in the family affected.
Solid Energy's debt is near $400 million mark.
That's why so many jobs have been cut recently.
The company admits the international market
playing a big part.
NZ Steel and Genesis importing coal,
setting the benchmark for prices.
Hope for the company perhaps,
but for some workers, their hopes have been broken.
At 61, Bill says he doesn't worry any more
because he'll get a good redundancy and move on.
Peata Melbourne, Te Karere.
We have Labour's Hauraki-Waikato MP Nanaia Mahuta live from Huntly.
Tena koe, Nanaia.
What do you think about the latest job losses at Solid Energy?
It's sad for those families
because they knew that if things didn't change
in the coal industry,
then jobs could be at risk at Solid Energy, and today,
that's now been explained to them.
It's a devastating blow to the area,
there are already very few jobs in and around Huntly, correct?
That's right.
It's not an easy job to find empoloyment here in Waikato.
That's why workers are devastated by the news.
They may look to Australia and their relations
who are working in the mines there.
They may move over there to join them,
but Australia is also facing similar circumstances in the industry.
Wasn't that what happened last year,
when Solid Energy announced job cuts,
some went over to Australia.
Yes, some left, but others came back because it's just as hard
to find a job in the mines there.
It's hard to find employment due to the increase in market prices.
I think if NZ Steel and this building behind me
think about sourcing coal from here in NZ,
that could be the solution.
But they buy their coal from Asia.
This is a difficult question to ask,
but what is Huntly's future looking like now?
Will the community survive?
Ideas are still being tossed around
in regards to what we want and finding solutions amongst ourselves.
Firstly, we need to ensure
our families and workers are taken care of.
Secondly, invite the company to sit with Tainui
and discuss a way forward.
At the end of the day, the river may be our lifeline.
Nanaia Mahuta, thank you for your time.