Dozens face axe at campervan company

The firm blames a drop in tourist numbers. Photo / Sarah Ivey

A Hamilton vehicle manufacturing plant is blaming falling demand for its campervans and a drop in tourist numbers which could see it cull up to 67 jobs.

Caravans International Munro, which makes the Maui and Britz campervans and is a division of Tourism Holdings, reported a loss of $3.2 million in the six months to December 31.

It says 67 staff - nearly 40 per cent of its staff at its Te Rapa plant - are facing redundancy.

CI Munro chief executive Grant Webster said stunned workers were told on Tuesday - just two months after 20 jobs were axed at the plant.

Mr Webster put the lay-offs down to a lack of demand for the recreational vehicles, private motorhomes and caravans the company produces.

The tourism industry had also suffered a downturn, with a drop of up to 40 per cent from some countries.

"Obviously it's very sad but it's reflective of what you see in the motor vehicle industry in terms of used vehicle sales," said Mr Webster.

If the 67 staff go, the firm will have almost halved in size from the start of the year, when it employed more than 170.

CI Munro was based in the King Country town of Otorohanga but moved its operations to Hamilton in 2007.

One worker, who did not want to be named, said staff were shocked by the announcement. "After February, we knew things were a bit bad but we never realised there would be so many jobs gone. We just couldn't believe it when we got the news."

The Engineering, Printing and Manufacturing Union said it was in talks with the company to seek alternatives to the lay-offs, such as a nine-day working fortnight or job-sharing.

But Mr Webster said: "We are talking about over 40 per cent of the people we employ, so a nine-day fortnight is just not going to get that reduction in capacity we are experiencing and have to make."

The workers' fate should be known early next week.