April 26, 2007
Media Release

Fisher & Paykel closure a ‘wake up call’ for Government

The Engineering, Printing and Manufacturing Union is calling on the government to review its manufacturing strategy, or lack of one, in the wake of Fisher & Paykel’s announcement that it will be relocating manufacturing operations to Thailand at a cost of 350 jobs.

The announcement comes just hours after the Reserve Bank raised the Official Cash Rate by another 0.25%, in a move that is expected to push the New Zealand dollar up and put further pressure on exporters such as Fisher & Paykel.

EPMU national secretary Andrew Little says the closure is a wake up call to the government to start taking manufacturing in this country seriously.

“Fisher & Paykel is one of New Zealand’s premier brands with a strong commitment to manufacturing in New Zealand, so when they decide manufacturing is no longer viable in this country it’s clear there is something seriously wrong.

“Like a lot of New Zealand exporters, Fisher & Paykel’s margins have been squeezed in recent times by the high Kiwi dollar. This has got to be a wake up call for the government that more needs to be done to foster high-wage, high-value manufacturing in this country.

“A good start would be for the government to stop relying solely on manipulating interest rates to control inflation and instead look at more targeted policies that don’t put New Zealand manufacturing and the jobs it provides at risk.”

The manufacturing sector employs 235,000 New Zealanders and accounts for more than 60% of New Zealand’s exports.

ENDS

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