Whiteware manufacturer Fisher and Paykel Appliances has confirmed it will be the latest tenant in the Dunedin City Council's Wall Street retail development in George St and will be installing at least 130 design and call-centre staff there by late June.
The $34 million development has 11 retailers signed up and officially opened last Friday.
Appliances, which is closing its 23-year-old Mosgiel site this year, with the loss of 430 jobs, preferring to shift its manufacturing overseas, confirmed yesterday it was negotiating with the council over a lease arrangement for more than eight years.
Appliances chief executive of New Zealand, Malcolm Harris, emphasised "nothing had been signed" and "contractual issues" were still being negotiated, but the company was "reasonably confident" the long-term deal would go ahead.
"It's likely more than eight years. We're there for the long haul," Mr Harris said.
Since Appliances announced a total 1100 job losses in April last year, in Mosgiel, Brisbane and California, manufacturing instead in Thailand, Mexico and Italy, it has had difficulty finding adequate premises around Dunedin for the design and call centre staff.
Mr Harris said Appliances would initially take over at least 3000sq m of space on the first and second floors of Wall Street for the 90 design staff and 40 new call centre staff, but was adamant call centre staff numbers could increase to 60 within six months.
He expected the fit-out, communications and computer centres, would cost more than $100,000.
