Air NZ lays blame for job cuts at Govt's door

Air NZ said that 'investment in marketing will help sustain the tourism industry through this challenging period and help secure the 180,000 jobs dependent on the sector.' Photo / Sarah Ivey

Air New Zealand is blaming the Government for not spending enough on marketing the country to overseas tourists as it plans to cut up to 80 jobs.

"The airline shares in the widespread industry disappointment that the Government is yet to increase its support for New Zealand's number one export earner," it said yesterday.

It told the stock exchange that while it continued to spend more than $100 million a year on marketing itself and New Zealand overseas, severe economic conditions and the bigger budgets of competing destinations were reducing the effect of this spending.

The broadside came as Air NZ gave unions notice of "a potential surplus" of up to 40 cabin crew and pilots in its regional airline subsidiaries and its national jet operation, as well as a similar surplus among airport staff in Auckland and Christchurch.

Air NZ, which also cut 200 jobs late last year, said the latest round of restructuring had been forced on it by a need to reduce seats by a further 3 per cent in response to falling demand.

That followed a 13 per cent reduction since the 2007-08 financial year.

In the latest changes, Air NZ will cut flights on its Hong Kong-London service from seven days a week to five days from mid-October, and reduce the frequency of flights on domestic routes serviced by its regional airlines.

It said it was also "exploring options to address the need for workplace flexibility" on its transtasman Zeal 320 subsidiary services, to keep fares competitive.

The Engineering, Printing and Manufacturing Union said that raised legal issues, as the union was still involved in bargaining with the airline for a new collective contract for its Zeal 320 members.

Its national aviation organiser, Strachan Crang, said the airline was required by law to keep pay bargaining and restructuring separate.

He said the union, which represented 3500 of Air NZ's 11,000 employees, would be "casting a very critical eye over any proposals to ensure they are justified and to protect our members' interests".

The airline said it had been reducing staffing costs in its corporate headquarters, through moves such as four-day working weeks, unpaid leave, and pay and hiring freezes.

It said it would lobby the Government to increase funding for tourism promotion, saying there was strong evidence that people still wanted to travel.

"The challenge is to present potential travellers with the right proposition at the right price and that requires investment in marketing and communications," it said.

"This investment in marketing will help sustain the tourism industry through this challenging period and help secure the 180,000 jobs dependent on the sector."