People ‘are already moving out of town’ as factories prepare to close

photo: Alexa Cook/RNZ

The planned closure of two major North Island factories has already had an impact on the local economy of Rhaetig, with local residents moving away and businesses feeling the pinch.

Forest products company Winstone Pulp International is Consider closing your entire business Due to high wholesale electricity prices, this will lead to 230 jobs lost.

Angie Robson, owner of Raetihi’s Coach Cafe and Takeaways, told RNZ the business had been much quieter since the factory announced its plans to close last week.

“When they first mentioned it we stood there for an hour and a half at night and we’ve never stood there and done nothing.

“People are very cautious now, they are not spending and some have moved out of town,” she said.

Since the news broke, things have been quiet at Coach Cafe and Takeaways in Raetihi.
photo: RNZ/Alexa Cook

Robson has run the cafe for nearly seven years and said if the economy falls too far they will have to give it up.

“To be honest, the impact is huge. Many couples both work in factories, what should they do?” she said.

Raewyn Sinclair’s partners work in factories and she owns a sign writing company.

“My new business has only been open for three years and it’s been going pretty well, but to be honest we might have to close it and maybe move to Australia,” she said.

“We’ve almost paid off the mortgage but we might have to sell it and we won’t get anything because no one wants to live here.”

The factory is the region’s largest employer, with most of its 230 workers living in the towns of Raetihi, Ohakune, Waiouru and Taihape.

But Sinclair said if it closed, many people would be forced to leave to find work, which would have wide-ranging impacts on all aspects of the community.

“I think if we all moved away, we would have one child left in our kohanga, so that’s just talk, it’s just one kohanga. There are other kohangas, daycares and schools,” she said.

It’s not just jobs that are being cut, it’s a whole economy of contractors and businesses that rely on Winston for work and on the people employed there spending their wages locally.

Andy Entwistle, who owns a security company with about 600 clients in the region, worries about the ripple effect.

“In six or 12 months, the support businesses that depend on revenue from providing services will be gone. People move away, and the infrastructure goes with them. What happens to our health care? What happens if our grocery stores can’t survive?” he said.

Even the real estate market is expected to take a hit.

“As soon as someone says a plant is closing, real estate values ​​immediately drop by 15, 20, 30 percent,” Entwistle said.

Winston Pulp International met with the minister on Monday, with Mayor Weston Cotton hoping the government will intervene.

“So I think you’ll find that they’ll find a clear way to come up with a program that works not only for this region but for other regions as well,” he said.