KEY POINTS:
Auckland will bear the brunt of 230 jobs losses at SkyCity, which managing director Evan Davies says will occur largely through attrition and unions believe will be focused on management.
Mr Davies will address staff at 1pm today about plans to cut the fulltime equivalent of 230 jobs from the SkyCity group, which encompasses casinos, cinemas and hotels in Auckland, Hamilton, Christchurch, Queenstown, Adelaide and Darwin with a total staff of about 5000.
He told shareholders yesterday SkyCity was on a mission to cut $33 million in costs and sell any poorly performing assets.
He also pledged to take the knife to sporting and charitable sponsorship programmes, although SkyCity's association with Auckland Rugby and the Blues appears to be safe as it is into the first year of a four-year contract.
However, the Starship Foundation and the New Zealand Breast Cancer Foundation will learn their fate when the company talks to them "over the next little while".
Mr Davies said the job losses would predominantly be in Auckland in back-of-house operations and centralising support functions.
The cuts would occur over 12 to 18 months largely through attrition rather than a significant number of forced redundancies.
"SkyCity has a reasonably significant turnover in staff, employing 1000 staff a year across the group. So 230 positions is not such a significant number of employees against the number of new people we're employing every year," he said.
The Service and Food Workers Union and Unite, which represent about 1000 workers at SkyCity, yesterday took the announcement to mean the job losses would largely be in management.
Nevertheless, Unite boss Matt McCarten said the announcements left a sour taste, while Service and Food Workers Union northern regional secretary Jill Ovens said it had created anxiety for workers.
"I think it is a bit on the nose to go and tell shareholders, put it out in the media and last on the list are staff," she said.
Mr McCarten said that when shareholders came to celebrate the announcement that led to an 18c jump in SkyCity's share price, "just remember that 230 New Zealanders have paid for it".
Mr Davies said the company was on the verge of selling the SkyCity Metro cinema complex in Queen St for $54 million to an Australian-based funds manager.
The company would continue to operate its Village SkyCity Cinemas operation here but would make a decision "reasonably quickly" on whether to sell the business and other poorly performing units.
IN SPOTLIGHT
SkyCity sponsorships:
* Auckland Rugby.
* Blues Super 14.
* Starship Foundation.
* Kidz First Children's Hospital.
* SkyCity Starlight Symphony.
* New Zealand Breast Cancer Foundation.
* Auckland Festival.
