Geon’s New Zealand business has been bought by rival Blue Star NZ, which will close down plants and retain just 50 of the 235 staff on Geon NZ’s payroll.
This latest development leaves Geon Western Australia as the main asset in the Geon portfolio still up for sale, although there is also a business in Tasmania up for sale. Ironically, the Perth business was the one its former owners had the most confidence in.
The Tom Sturgess-owned Blue Star New Zealand purchase of Geon New Zealand parallels the Australian situation, where Geoff Selig’s Blue Star Group bought the Geon east coast business.
In New Zealand the two Wellington plants will close; Napier will continue on a reduced staff; while the supersite at Highbrook will continue to operate, albeit with a vastly reduced staff, probably until the Blue Star can transfer all the work to its own sites.
The majority of the 50 staff taken on by Blue Star comprise management and sales positions, although 20 production staff have received offers of short term contracts.
The first sign that Geon New Zealand would break up came when Tom Sturgess bought the Christchurch-based Geon labels business, formerly Kiwi Labels, two weeks ago. In that instance, he promised to repay debts owed to suppliers, but a company statement released late this afternoon makes no mention of any such payments. It reads:
“Blue Star Group has confirmed it has purchased all the fixed assets of Geon, effective immediately.
“Fifty Geon staff have been offered employment by Blue Star Group, including a number of key senior management. In addition, a number of Geon staff will be offered a short-term employment contract to support the Highbrook site which will continue to operate until further notice.
“Blue Star Group says staff and customers are being advised of the purchase.”
After working with the receivers for two weeks, Joe Gallagher from the Engineers Printers and Manufacturers Union (EPMU) had hoped for a better outcome for the workers at Geon. He says, “It’s a dark day for the 185 workers who have lost their livelihoods and and absolutely heartbreaking for their families. There are many long-term employees who have put their hearts and souls into their work at this company and they are the ones who will get hurt the most. This poorly managed company, laden with an unsustainable amount of debt, compares to the situation at Solid Energy; it’s the workers who are paying the price for mismanagement at the top.”
Gallagher admits that the shakedown in the industry, and particularly at Geon, comes as little to surprise to all the pundits who have said for some time that the country has far too much press power, he asked for other people in the industry to consider the plight of the sacked Geon staff members. He says, “Some of our members have been there 16 years or more and they now find themselves in a very uncertain job market. In such a stilted economy, with a hugely compressed job market, this is very a tough time to find yourself unemployed. This week, we’ve seen hundreds of people apply for seven packing jobs worth $15 an hour at Carter Holt Harvey. People are desperate for work and the jobs just aren’t there.”
EPMU now faces working through the sacked employees entitlements to try and salvage something for those at the bottom of the Geon pecking order. Gallagher says, “We’re looking forward to working with new owners, the Blue Star Group, to ensure the conditions of existing staff are honoured and those who have been made redundant receive their full entitlements.”
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