KEY POINTS:
Hundreds of jobs are being lost on Auckland's North Shore as three large businesses quit New Zealand for Asia.
Derek Englefield, whose family founded Englefield bathroomware, said three large businesses had either shut and shifted overseas or were laying off large numbers of their staff.
The moves were a serious blow for the area and the situation could get worse, he warned.
"This has gone under most people's radar," he said, cautioning that more layoffs could be coming soon if businesses did not adapt to a rapidly changing market.
This week, it was announced that Kohler, which now owns Englefield, would lay off 72 workers and shift its manufacturing to Shanghai.
La-Z-Boy maker Morgan Furniture has also announced it will lay off staff to shift to Thailand and China and manufacturer 3M announced it would close its Takapuna plant.
Englefield said many businesses had failed to realise a structural shift in consumer demand.
"There is no middle market any more and that's the space a lot of New Zealand manufacturers are in," he said.
Morgan Furniture, founded by carpenter and upholsterer Jack Morgan, had been in business on the Shore for more than 60 years.
Its shift follows the movement of other brands' manufacturing to Asia, including Pumpkin Patch, Buzzy Bee, Karen Walker clothing, Macpac and Kathmandu.
3M began doing business in New Zealand in 1953 but this year said its manufacturing would move overseas to another subsidiary, probably in Asia, where it would be closer to most of its customers and suppliers.
Englefield said a five-year restraint of trade agreement with Kohler had expired and he was now able to work in the bathroomware sector again. He has founded a new bathroomware firm, Oben.
