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 sell-off of the state-owned coal miner’s assets.
The creditors met yesterday at a special meeting at the Lincoln Event Centre in Canterbury to decide on a proposal put forward by administrators of the stateowned 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 a 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. It’s fair to say that there is a reasonable chance that there will be job cuts being made.’’
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 KordaMentha 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 banks are the biggest creditors and therefore had the most voting power. They fell in behind the sale plan rather than immediate liquidation, Gibson said. There was not ‘‘a lot of debate, really’’ opposing the plan.
The creditors provided more than enough voting support for a deed of company arrangement plan, requiring 75 per cent of votes by value owed and 50 per cent by number of creditors.
The board would take control of an asset sale process under a 2.5-year time frame, he said.
A good number of interested parties had already ‘‘put their hand’’ up. It was now up to the Solid Energy board to lead and deal with those approaches.
There would also be a participating creditors’ committee to work with the board and management. ‘‘Now it’s to get into a proper process and corral all those interests.’’
The state-owned coal miner has debts of more than $400 million owed to participating creditors, and gross debt is even higher.
Staff have remained working at the company’s three main operating arms, including a West Coast export mine, and at Solid Energy’s headquarters ahead of the creditors meeting.
However, many Solid Energy workers have already lost their jobs. Earlier this year the miner confirmed 151 job cuts at its Stockton coal mine and six jobs at the mothballed Spring Creek mine, also on the West Coast.