More job cuts likely at Solid Energy

Solid Energy boss Dan Clifford says there could be further job cuts as the coal miner reshapes its business units for potential sale.

The creditors of Solid Energy have voted overwhelmingly in favour of a plan for an orderly selloff of the state owned coal miner’s assets.

The creditors met on Thursday at a special meeting at the Lincoln Event Centre in Canterbury to decide on a proposal put forward by administrators of the state-owned enterprise.

Commenting afterwards, Clifford said there was a reasonable chance of further New Zealand job cuts.

The company had a track record of reviewing its three business units which include Huntly-based North Island operation and an export business on the West Coast.

‘‘We have to run these businesses as going concerns so we will continue to assess them,’’ Clifford said.

"I think it’s no secret we’ve had a pretty tough platform to negotiate on the North Island, and that’s being driven by a number of factors.

He was happy the creditors had supported a gradual sale of assets proposal, and the process would start as soon as possible.

Brendon Gibson, of Korda Mentha, had been in charge of the voluntary administration process leading up to the meeting, which had also involved creditors including the major banks and clients such as Lyttelton Port of Christchurch and KiwiRail.

The banksare the biggest creditors and therefore had the most voting power.

They fell in behind the sale plan rather than immediate liquidation, Gibson said.