More job losses: Auckland Council and Auckland Transport staff disband

Work is underway to eliminate more than 100 positions at Auckland Transport, and Auckland City Council is preparing another round of job cuts.

AT CEO Shane Ellison has announced that around 115 roles will be eliminated, but said there are gaps elsewhere in the board-controlled organization that affected staff can request.

The Herald understands that the council is planning another round of job losses in response to a $ 500 million hole caused by Covid in this year’s emergency budget.

Yesterday, The Warehouse announced the loss of hundreds of jobs in 92 stores across the country. First Union said it had been told that about 600 employees would go as a result of a restructuring.

In an email sent to stakeholders last week, Ellison said that Covid-19 had imposed strict controls on hiring staff and contractors, seeing the workforce shrink by 144 from 2069 to 1925 people.

He said he is proposing to cut another 6 percent of the roles, but the loss of contractors and resignations in priority areas mean many of those affected by the restructuring are likely to be offered new roles.

“We will take a flexible approach to these changes to mitigate the impact on our people,” Ellison said.

Areas targeted for fewer roles in AT are project delivery, asset and maintenance teams, business technology, and stakeholder functions, communications, and communities.

The council chiefs have made it clear that the council has to cut jobs, and fast, in response to a $ 500 million hole in the budget.

In May, the council’s chief executive, Stephen Town, said the council had to cut operating costs by $ 120 million, noting that staffing is the organization’s biggest cost. A comprehensive operational review had to start rolling out in August, he said.

Acting CEO Patricia Reade emailed staff in July to tell them that the full-time staff would be cut from 6,500 to about 6,000. These numbers are in addition to the 600 part-time employees who had already been laid off.

National Party leader Judith Collins has promised an Auckland Council review if her party wins the election, accusing the organization of failing to comply with the Aucklanders.

The review will be completed in September next year with new legislation in effect by March 2022, it said.