Planned Air NZ cuts a ‘brutal blow’
A proposal to close Air New Zealand’s heavy maintenance facility in Nelson resulting in the loss of up to 100 highly skilled jobs is ‘‘devastating’’, regional leaders say.
Air New Zealand staff in Nelson were told on Wednesday of a proposal to end heavy maintenance of turboprop aircraft at the regional facility at Nelson Airport, with only light maintenance to be carried out there.
The heavy maintenance work would be moved to Christchurch.
When asked about the number of jobs affected, an airline spokeswoman was unable to comment while consultation was under way, other than to say it would mean the disestablishment of ‘‘a number of roles’’ in Nelson. Some staff would have the option of redeployment to Christchurch.
Heavy maintenance involves an aircraft being taken apart once every 18 months to two years for inspection and overhaul. Light or line maintenance involves overnight checks and minor scheduled maintenance tasks.
Nelson MP Nick Smith said the plan was a ‘‘brutal blow’’ that would cost Nelson 100 jobs and $10 million a year in regional income.
‘‘The worry is that we will not recover these skilled jobs when the Covid-19 emergency is behind us. The only consolation is the retention of the light overnight maintenance.’’
Smith said he hoped the proposal would be reconsidered by the Government. As the majority shareholder in Air New Zealand, it was providing the airline with ‘‘hundreds of millions of dollars of financial support’’.
‘‘We should be leaving the door open to this heavy engineering work being returned to Nelson.’’
Smith said the Government needed to take an industry-wide perspective on its $600m aviation sector support package, which did not support smaller airlines such as Sounds Air and Origin.
A petition to ‘‘save Sounds Air’’ was launched by Kaiko¯ ura National MP Stuart Smith, urging the Government to support the airline through its $600m package. By 4pm on Wednesday it had more than 18,000 signatures.
Nelson mayor Rachel Reese said the news was a ‘‘devastating blow’’ to the staff, and the loss of 100 highly skilled jobs in a workforce the size of Nelson was ‘‘extremely damaging’’.
‘‘We’ve had a strong relationship now with Air New Zealand for many decades and it is critical that the Government understands the scale of impact to the aviation sector in our region. They need to ensure that support is targeted to help us recover.’’
Reese said the opportunity for redeployment was reasonably low and new jobs would need to be found to keep these skilled people in the region.
‘‘I urge Air New Zealand not to close the door on heavy maintenance for good. This workforce has performed really well for Air New Zealand and they deserve the opportunity for this decision to be revisited when the economic situation improves.’’
Tasman mayor Tim King said the proposal to axe jobs was ‘‘extremely concerning’’ and a further reminder of the economic impact of Covid-19.
‘‘The biggest impact will be felt by these people and their families.’’
King said he understood Air New Zealand’s position, which was driven by conditions well beyond its control. But as a co-owner of Nelson Airport, he hoped the decision was a temporary consequence of the coronavirus pandemic that could be revisited when the economy recovered.
Labour candidate Rachel Boyack said she was devastated to hear of the potential job losses.
The Government, she said, was planning a range of infrastructure projects to create new jobs in other industries and support those who were out of work.
A subsidiary of the airline, Air New Zealand Regional Maintenance Ltd was formed in 2015, creating about 50 high-paid engineering jobs in a facility at Nelson Airport.