It has been reported that Carter Holt Harvey (CHH) has put a further 160 jobs at risk in New Zealand, this follows cutting 110 jobs in January when it closed its Whangarei mill in February 2020. Sources: Timberbiz, Stuff NZ, New Zealand Herald
According to Stuff NZ CHH chief executive Prafull Kesha said that the restructure intends to end LVL export business with a refocus on a domestic operation.
“The proposal reflects our serious concern that the export part of the LVL business, which accounts for approximately 70% of our production and sales volume, is unprofitable and the business as it operates today can’t continue,” Mr Kesha told Stuff NZ.
Currently the company’s LVL operation has 325 staff and about half were expected to be made redundant if the company goes ahead.
While the company says that COVID-19 was not a primary reason for the restructure it comes at a terrible time for timber workers. The closure of the Whangarei mill happened at around the same time as COVID-19 came into play. After that closure the company said that the workers affected would find it relatively easy to get new jobs citing work at KiwiRail, agriculture, and the One Billion Trees project.
Carter Holt Harvey is organised into four business units: Carter Holt Harvey Building Products Limited (CHH Woodproducts), Carter Holt Harvey Plywood (CHH Plywood), Carter Holt Harvey LVL (Futurebuild) and Carters Building Supplies.
Futurebuild LVL offers a range of Laminated Veneer Lumber (LVL) products, combined with a set of software and a range of design services to support the use of LVL. All products are manufactured at the high-tech LVL manufacturing facility in Marsden Point, New Zealand to supply the New Zealand and Australian markets.
