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After 25 years Michael Hill Jeweller is to shut its Whangarei manufacturing unit, axing 17 jobs.
The first jewellery sold in the first Michael Hill store, in Whangarei, was made at the company's Whangarei manufacturing unit, but next week the jewellers will pack up their equipment for the last time.
Michael Hill International group chief executive Mike Parsell flew from head office in Brisbane on Monday to announce the closure to workers at the Rathbone St unit. The company is moving its manufacturing operation to Brisbane in the face of stiff competition from Asian manufacturers.
"With all our expansion we have had to constantly reassess our corporate structure and work out the most stable way to go forward. Unfortunately with manufacturing in New Zealand it just hasn't worked out," Mr Parsell said.
"We need to consolidate that function in Brisbane where we will be closest to our supply chain so we can service our stores better."
Most of the company's business was in Australia, but it was also expanding rapidly into Canada, and was eyeing the British market. He acknowledged it was the end of an era but said the "fierce competition" Michael Hill faced from Asian jewellery manufacturers made it inevitable.
Mr Parsell said the Whangarei workers had been offered the chance to fill six vacancies in the expanded Brisbane unit, but those who did not take up the offer would get redundancy payments.
He said the company had had its manufacturing base in Whangarei since it started almost 25 years ago and the closure was sad.
The workers, who had worked at the unit for between five and 21 years, were shocked but said it had been a good place to work.
However, at least one believed the quality of jewellery would suffer as a result of the closure.
"Michael Hill has a pride about coming from Whangarei and most of us have family and ties here. We can't just up sticks and leave for Brisbane."
