"Our view would be to return as many people as we can - possibly, probably, all of them but not necessarily in the same jobs," Mr Ogg said.
Mr Woodhead said the Castlecliff meatworks had about 90 staff who process lambs, pigs and cattle. They were told about three weeks ago lamb slaughtering could move to Affco's Imlay plant in Heads Rd.
The Imlay works had some spare capacity, and there could be jobs for some of them. They could also be offered jobs in other Affco meatworks.
At a Castlecliff shed meeting a week ago the workers were pretty numb, Mr Woodhead said.
They didn't know who would be affected. They had been hearing rumours for months and some had started applying for other jobs, he said.
The company was following correct procedure, he said. The workers have a redundancy package under their contract, but it "left a lot to be desired". "We tried to get a good redundancy package over the years, but we haven't been able to."
He believed the restructure was needed because there were fewer lambs because of changes in New Zealand farming. There was now more meatworks capacity than animals to process.
Mr Ogg said meat processing was an exceptionally competitive industry.
"If we can improve efficiency by better plant use, it's something we can't ignore."
Mr Woodhead said no one was blaming the meatworks for the need to restructure, but it was still "ugly" coming just before Christmas.
He's been in the industry 45 years and seen the changes.
"We were once a great industry but now it's hard for people to survive. The insecure employment is terrible. Affco-Talleys is probably worse, but it's right through the industry."