The axe has so far fallen on 63 jobs at Callaghan, which is to be disestablished in the Government’s overhaul of the science sector.
While those roles will be gone in the next couple of weeks, more are expected to follow soon, with Science Minister Shane Reti confirming funding will cease to many functions within the organisation by June 30.
One Callaghan researcher, who RNZ agreed not to name, said it was only a matter of time before his name appeared on a list of redundancies.
He said he was urgently trying to figure out his next move, but likened it to “trying to build a plane as we’re falling off a cliff”.
“I’m getting in touch with all my contacts, trying to stay here in New Zealand, around Wellington, but I’m also looking at Australia – just trying to find a place for myself.”
He said he was not alone in applying to positions and brushing up his CV, and felt particularly bad for junior colleagues who had found themselves in a precarious position.
The mood inside Callaghan Innovation is grim. Photo / Supplied
“Some of my younger colleagues are the sole bread-winners in the family... and many haven’t been in the company long enough to build up a good redundancy package. My heart goes out to them.”
Callaghan senior research scientist and union delegate Ben Wylie-van Eerd said substantial change was anticipated following Sir Peter Gluckman’s science sector review, but the pace was disorienting and left scientists in the lurch.
While the Crown Research Institutes are set to be merged into three mega science entities – Public Research Organisations – with a fourth established to focus on “advanced technology” – they are not expected to be up and running for another 12-18 months.
Wylie-van Eerd claimed many of the scientists losing their jobs could work in the new PROs, but the gap of at least six months before they existed was too big to bridge.
“What none of us really expected is that there is no route from our current state of the research system... to any part of the new state of the research system.
“The plan is to get rid of us now, and then wait a year to stand up a new Public Research Organisation, in which many of us have the appropriate skills. But that will be too late for us.
“We’ll have had to go and find something else by then, none of us can wait around for that long.”
He agreed that R&D and innovation were important to the country’s future prosperity, and said most people supported a shake-up of the science sector, however he wasn’t convinced the breakneck speed of the overhaul was justified.
“There could be some good things to come out of this change, but they’d have to be very good indeed to compensate for the loss of people.”
Lucy Stewart, spokesperson for the Save Science Coalition, said the loss of hundreds of science jobs in the public sector in the past year was contrary to the Government’s stated goal of using science to fuel economic growth.
“The Science System Advisory Group report highlighted that retention of the skilled workforce in this sector was of utmost importance. So far, it is difficult to see how the Government is upholding this principle when we are seeing job cuts continue even after the publication of the much-awaited report.”
Dr Shane Reti – who recently inherited the Science, Innovation and Technology portfolio from Judith Collins – said the massive restructure was focused on strengthening the science system, not on job cuts. Photo / Mike Scott
Science Minister says restructure is not about job cuts
Reti – who recently inherited the Science, Innovation and Technology portfolio from Judith Collins – said the massive restructure was focused on strengthening the science system, not on job cuts.
“The science sector reforms aim to ensure we focus our investment that will generate greatest value for our economy and our people.”
He said the disestablishment of Callaghan Innovation would help support and incentivise economic growth, and acknowledged there was significant work ahead.
“It’s too early to say how many staff will be transferred or made redundant.”
Last week, a spokesperson for Callaghan Innovation confirmed its dissolution had begun and would be ongoing, as was the work to transfer functions that would be retained.
The R&D tax scheme and other start-up and incubator programmes would be absorbed by MBIE, while the Food Innovation Network, Bioresource Processing Alliance, and Measurement Standards Laboratory would be transferred into the most relevant PRO.
Sign up to The Daily H, a free newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.
