Winstone Pulp International has announced that its Blue Mountain Lumber timber mill, at Conical Hill near Tapanui, will today begin a process of significantly reducing its operations.
David Anderson, managing director of Winstone Pulp International, met with employees this week and stated that the current economic climate, coupled with longstanding challenges facing the mill, meant the company needed to significantly reduce its employee numbers at the site. He said, “We will be seeking further consultation with all employees at Blue Mountain over the next two days, but expect that approximately 65 positions out of the 110 would be made redundant. This is a sad day for the mill, the people and the community, but unfortunately there is no other realistic option available at this stage.
“We have been working for a long time to address issues of viability at this mill. However the challenges it faces have only been made worse by the current economic environment and it is simply no longer possible to continue as we were before.” He added that by radically downsizing now, and focusing on products that have the potential to sell well in current markets, the company would attempt to bring the mill to a viable position.
Local media reported that Union officials had worked with mill bosses since the announcement was made.
In addition to redundancy payments to those who are leaving, Winstone Pulp International, a subsidiary of Malaysian-owned Ernslaw One, said it would provide assistance to employees. Anderson, who attended the recent government job summit concluded, “We cannot guarantee the outcome but we will be trying the best we can to turn this mill’s prospects around.”
