Summit Wool Spinners is calling for up to 30 more voluntary redundancies and 200 staff will take a paid eight-day break this month.
The company, Oamaru's second-largest employer, continues to battle a downturn in the international wool yarn-spinning industry.
The announcement comes after about 50 voluntary redundancies and short weeks that were negotiated earlier this year.
The eight-day break was to create a backlog of work as the level of local and overseas orders showed little sign of improvement, Summit director Ricky Hammond-Tooke said yesterday.
"To operate efficiently, our plant needs a certain level of activity that we've fallen below and [this move] is being taken to help address the situation."
From June 12, 200 employees will receive full pay with all entitlements and no reduction in ordinary annual leave.
Administrative and salaried staff were not affected as there was sufficient work for them.
"We think it's better for our people to have a short break away with their families and return to a productive plant, rather than just standing around machines," Mr Hammond-Tooke said.
The company was grateful for the continuing support of its Japanese owner, Sumitomo Corporation, and its philosophy of preferring to keep people employed while "waiting out this major industry downturn".
The situation worldwide for the industry was still very tight but inventories were being slowly used up and it was hoped that would result in an improvement in forward orders before the end of the year.
National Distribution Union regional organiser Ken Young said Summit and unions had developed "a very humane" way to deal with the downturn.
A traditional corporate approach could have resulted in more than 150 redundancies over the past few months which would have been "devastating" for the workers concerned and a "disaster" for the local community, Mr Young said.
Whether the company got 30 voluntary redundancies or not, it would not be making any further redundancies in the interim, he said.
NDU president Robert Reid also praised the "responsible attitude" being taken by company's owner and local management.
A combination of workers agreeing to work short weeks, voluntary redundancies, the Government's Job Support Scheme (nine-day fortnight) and the company willing to fund a close-down had averted an "economic and social disaster" for Oamaru and the workers concerned, he said.
