Hawke’s Bay trains have slowed this week as KiwiRail planned a restructure, with the Palmerston North to Napier freight line and its operations under question.
An email sent to staff obtained by 1News showed roles at both depots were at risk.
KiwiRail cited an ongoing downturn in freight, with 79 fewer trains per week than 2020. However, it remained committed to running freight between the two regions.
“KiwiRail has begun a multi-year transformation plan to reshape our business. This starts with focusing on delivering the reliable services that our customers want, at competitive rates,” acting KiwiRail chief operations officer Paul Ashton said.
“To be competitive, we need to lower our own costs and ensure our services are configured to meet the changing demands of the freight markets we serve, including in Hawke’s Bay where freight volumes to Napier Port have fallen.”
Rail and Maritime Transport Union representative Howard Phillips said he was shocked at the scale of cuts.
“We weren’t expecting the job losses at the magnitude that were announced,” he said.
“Obviously, we know that freight volumes are down and the closure of the mills in the central North Island has meant that there is now less freight coming into Napier. But whilst we were expecting some cuts, the cuts that have been announced, we think, are far too deep.”
Phillips said under the proposal, trainee train drivers also face the possibility of being made redundant.
“That’s never happened before, and we think that’s outrageous,” he said.
“When we are getting rid of good, productive, skilled jobs in the provinces, I think we are potentially hollowing the place out.”
The flow-on effects were also being felt at Napier Port.
In a statement, Napier Port confirmed it was proposing a restructure as a result of the Winstone Pulp mill closure, which could see 20 roles affected. But the port said it was confident it could adapt to fluctuating cargo flows.
Locals fear the job cuts could cripple the region.
“Well most people in not only Hawke’s Bay, but Gisborne and places like that were all concerned,” one resident said. “We are going to lose a lot of money. People are going to lose their jobs. It’s hard enough for people now.”
Hawke’s Bay regional economic development chief executive officer Lucy Laitinen said it would be disastrous to lose all rail network in Hawke’s Bay.
“It’s a bigger picture around what does our freight distribution look like? Our roads were hammered during Cyclone Gabrielle, and we’re still in a rebuild phase on the roading network, so to think we might be at risk of losing the rail network as well is a real concern for us because we need them to all work well together,” she said.
“We need rail, roads, good effective airport, and good effective port and if they don’t work well together, it’s a real concern for our economy.”
Consultation on the KiwiRail jobs is expected to finish next month.