New Zealand seafood company Sanford Ltd is proposing to close its Tauranga fish processing plant which could result in 65 job losses.
The company announced today it is working with affected staff to try to minimise the number that are impacted.
At present it employs 77 people at the Bay of Plenty site.
Sanford said in a statement the proposed decision was based on a number of factors but two were key, firstly the impact of Covid-19 had meant Sanford was processing less fish caught by other companies, which had seen processing volumes for its North Island sites drop significantly, and secondly the buildings at the plant did not meet new seismic strength requirements.
Chief operating officer Clement Chia said even if processing volumes eventually returned to pre-Covid levels, the seismic issues with the buildings and surrounding area meant it was not viable to continue at the Tauranga site.