200 Mainzeal staff made redundant

The receivers of Mainzeal Property and Construction say about half of the failed firm's staff have been made redundant in an urgent effort to reduce the company's operating costs.

Receivers PwC say that with suspension of work on all Mainzeal sites it had become necessary to review staffing levels and the redundancies had been made as a result of that review.

An exact number of job losses has not been released but PwC receiver Colin McCloy told BusinessDesk that about 200 staff have been made redundant to stem operating cash flows as they move as quickly as possible to a rescue package for the firm.

Mainzeal employed about 400 staff in New Zealand.

Mr McCloy confirmed that the receivers were in talks with parties interested in buying Mainzeal or its assets.

"We understand the importance of a prompt and efficient management of this receivership and we remain committed to working as quickly as possible through this receivership," McCloy said.

PwC said that since Friday the receivers had been working with contractors and subcontractors to give them access to sites to ensure all parties involved were safe and property could be retrieved in a "controlled manner".

"We want to thank all parties involved in this Receivership for their patience, we understand it is a challenging time for everyone," said McCloy. "We're continuing to evaluate individual projects in an effort to restart or transfer work on some sites as soon as possible, subject to contractual arrangements and our statutory obligations as receivers."

Mainzeal Property and Construction, New Zealand's third largest construction firm, announced its receivership on Waitangi Day.