Job losses are expected at Summit Wool Spinners' plant in Oamaru, but how many may not be known until the end of this week at the earliest.
Last week, the company announced it needed to restructure because of a downturn in orders, despite working reduced hours since Christmas in an unsuccessful attempt to reduce the impact.
Yesterday, union delegates and company representatives met for the first time to discuss options.
Company representatives and staff were not available yesterday to talk with the Otago Daily Times.
However, Engineering, Printing and Manufacturing Union (EPMU) organiser John Gardner said initial discussions were held yesterday to discuss various options, with more discussions scheduled for Friday.
He confirmed there would be redundancies, but how many would not become clearer until Friday.
Union delegates and the company met all day yesterday, followed by a meeting with between 130 and 140 staff where the results were outlined.
Mr Gardner was reluctant to go into too much detail because staff were "only just hearing about things" and some who were not at the meeting had not been informed.
Another meeting with staff will be held after Friday's discussions.
Summit, owned by the Japanese giant Sumitomo Corporation for the past 20 years, produces and exports yarn mainly for carpets and has been working reduced hours since Christmas, but this has not resulted in sufficient savings.
The Oamaru company exports to America, Australasia, Asia and Europe and has been facing reduced orders for some time, finding the market difficult with the New Zealand dollar high against the US dollar, and high prices for wool.
Summit said last week it needed to ensure it was running as leanly as possible in the present market conditions.
It indicated it could take up to four weeks to complete consultation with staff.
