Appeal brings 40 job offers in 40 minutes
ON Wednesday, they found out they’d lost their jobs. But the next morning, job offers started rolling in for the 100 workers from Thames foundry A&G Price Ltd.
Their former employer has gone into liquidation, emptying skilled workers – including foundry tradesmen and engineers – into the market.
On Friday, Waikato Engineering Careers Association asked all its members if they had any vacancies. Within 40 minutes, 40 offers had come in, association manager Mary Jensen said.
‘‘Ironically, much of our industry is in the grip of skills shortages, so we need to do everything we can to keep them local.’’
Former A&G worker Brian Donnelly said workmates panicked when the liquidation was announced and there was no guaranteed redundancy.
But word gets out fast, the machine shop foreman said, as proved by discussions at a gettogether on Friday night.
‘‘When skilled tradesmen become available from a situation like this, word gets around the countryside to the bigger businesses,’’ he said. ‘‘There are a lot of people who have been offered jobs in other places. They were rung up the same day or the morning after … and asked if they wanted to come for an interview. Some of them have basically been hired on the spot.’’
Donnelly worked at the foundry for about 40 years – but he is past retirement age and not too worried.
His son, who also worked there, has already been contacted about two jobs, he said.
‘‘My heart goes out to the guys with families and a mortgage. There’s no work in Thames and they have got to move or commute to the likes of Hamilton or Auckland or Tauranga or wherever.’’