Cablemaker to shed 100 jobs in Christchurch

ABout 100 jobs will go at loss-making Christchurch cablemaker General Cable New Zealand, with plans to shut four of its five plants and shift some production to Southeast Asia.

The redundancies come after other big job cuts at Christchurch manufacturers late last year, including 275 at the Bridgestone-Firestone tyre factory. Clothing manufacturer Lane Walker Rudkin also cut 263 jobs last year and Deane Apparel axed 30 jobs.

The United States-owned General Cable, which employs about 350 people at its Sockburn manufacturing site, announced the "major transformation" yesterday, citing heavy losses incurred in the global economic crisis.

General Cable managing director Chris Birkett said jobs would not be cut until 2011, after a $5m investment in the Christchurch plant, which would be reduced in scale and productivity improved. "I think it's great that a multinational wants to invest cash in New Zealand at a time when it's not that common," he said.

Demand for the cables the firm produces had slackened during the slump in residential building and production in Christchurch would be consolidated, with low-value-added cable production moved to factories in the Philippines or Thailand.

The last available financial records for General Cable NZ group, part of a larger United States-based parent company, show sales of $259.6 million in December 2008 year. However, the firm also reported a $18.4m loss in 2008, against a $11.5m profit in 2007.

The firm had made losses in the 2008 and 2009 financial years, Mr Birkett said. Under the 18-month transformation, it aimed to be profitable in 2011, he said.

The idea to restructure the business had come from him, given those losses, which came about from lower demand in the building industry and pressure on margins. "I made that call because our earnings are down – we're in a loss position."

He would not comment on how many jobs would be lost but Engineering, Printing and Manufacturing Union assistant national secretary Ged O'Connell said workers were told on Monday about 100 manufacturing jobs, or almost a third of the workforce, would be cut. The site had five factories and the idea was to consolidate to one, he said.

- © Fairfax NZ News