One of North Otago's largest employers, Summit Wool Spinners Ltd, will be reducing its shifts from 12 hours to 10 later this month, because of a "dramatic" drop in orders.
When contacted, director Ricky Hammond-Tooke said the decrease started before the worldwide financial crisis, although that made the future more uncertain.
Summit Wool Spinners, which is owned by the Sumitomo Corporation, is New Zealand's largest independent spinner, supplying carpet and rug yarn for both domestic and international markets.
While orders had suddenly dried up, it was seen as a short-term situation and it was hoped to "get back to normal" some time soon, Mr Hammond-Tooke said.
Staff were informed on Monday and he thought workers would have been expecting it because orders were very low.
The company employs about 340 workers and the reduced shifts would affect "a large percentage" of the workforce.
The situation would be reassessed if there was an increase in orders, he said.
Engineering, Printing and Manufacturing Union lead organiser John Gardner said the reduction in shifts was a concern as Christmas approached.
The union was in talks with the company about what could be done to mitigate the loss.
It was due to a "market situation", he said.
The company was actively trying to get orders and the union hoped it would be successful "so we can go back to working the normal hours".
