KEY POINTS:
Timberlands West Coast, New Zealand's smallest state-owned enterprise, has signalled job losses are imminent as the company embarks on restructuring.
Chief executive Phil Melhopt said yesterday that management and staff costs had to be reduced.
It employs 17 people in the Greymouth head office.
Timberlands was established as an SOE after the dismantling of the Forest Service in 1987, and today owns plantation forests for supply to the West Coast sawmill industry.
The restructuring, announced to staff this morning, follows two poor years that have seen the company lose $13.5 million.
This year, the Government pumped $1 million into the struggling business.
Melhopt said staff consultation should conclude this month.
Timberlands has blamed reduced harvests, which have been producing slightly more than half traditional yields.
