Warnings for the wider Dunedin business community began to emerge soon after Fisher and Paykel announced it was closing its Mosgiel factory.
Otago-Southland Employers Association chief executive Duncan Simpson, Dunedin deputy mayor Syd Brown and Select Personnel managing director Karen Bardwell all provided warnings that suppliers to F&P might find the going tough in the immediate future.
Mr Simpson said at least one significant Mosgiel-based supplier to F&P would take a hit and there were many other smaller companies who supplied products and services to the appliance manufacturer.
‘‘There is a lot more at stake than the 430 jobs announced.''
The announcement showed how difficult large-scale manufacturing was in New Zealand. The only way to survive was to constantly reinvent the business, but that was easier said than done, he said.
Cr Brown said it was too early to assess how wide the effects of the F&P closure would be but knew other smaller firms would be hurting from the news.
‘‘It . . . will have serious repercussions throughout the region. Two weeks ago, we had the good news of the Hilton [Hotel], Air New Zealand providing a link to Australia and Pacific Blue coming to Dunedin. I hope this is just a blip.''
Engineering, Printing and Manufacturing Union national secretary Andrew Little said in an interview the usual multiplier used was that every manufacturing job supported four or five other jobs.
Using that calculation, up to 2000 Dunedin jobs could be affected in some way by the loss of the 430 workers at F&P. The affected jobs would be across a wide range of industries such as suppliers, cafes and cleaners.
‘‘When such a high number of jobs are concentrated in one area it has a big impact on the workforce and the social impact of where people live in relation to work.''
Mrs Bardwell said Select Personnel would urge affected workers to register and make themselves available for employment as quickly as possible.
Dunedin, like the rest of the country, had a skills shortage and she believed a high percentage of the workers would be keenly sought after.
Although the redundancies would have a ripple effect through other industries, she remained positive about employment prospects, particularly with the city's low employment rates.
Only 18 people received the unemployment benefit in Mosgiel in March, down from 29 in March last year, and 157 received it in South Dunedin, down from 281 last year.
In Dunedin City, which includes Dunedin North and the Dunedin Super Centre, 466 received the benefit in March, down from 643.
Mr Little said he hoped that it was as easy to find new jobs for the redundant workers as people had been saying.
‘‘The difference this time is that the manufacturing sector is under pressure. They have a reasonably good contract at F&P and are unlikely to find work that remunerates as well as that.''
The workers had an eight-and-two redundancy agreement, with eight weeks paid for the first year of employment and two weeks for every following year, up to 20 years and 57 weeks' pay, he said.
Workers were paid another $700 for every year above 20 they had worked at the plant.
New Zealand Manufacturers and Exporters Association chief executive John Walley said the closure was also a blow to the wider New Zealand economy and another manifestation of a failing policy framework.
‘‘Perhaps more importantly, skills and capabilities demanded by top tier manufacturers will be lost to us, both in term of volume and quality. If we have aspirations for an economy that is more than China's farm, we should all be very concerned,'' he said.
