Fonterra is planning to close its cheese plant in the South Island town of Kaikoura.
The site is open for three to five months a year, and employs 22 full-time staff, Fonterra said in a statement. It's understood the co-operative is looking at offering redeployment to affected staff.
The Kaikoura plant processes 245,000 litres of milk a day, turning it into 28 tonnes of cheese that is exported to international markets in Japan, the USA, Australia, Europe and Brazil. Fonterra says moving production to other sites would deliver "significant savings".
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Mark Leslie, Fonterra's director of New Zealand manufacturing, said a final decision is expected by the middle of the month and the company was discussing all "options and opportunities" available to the staff around their future employment should the closure go ahead.