Bed firm workers lose jobs in closure

The company that makes Sleepyhead beds says the integration of a new business into the firm has resulted in more than 100 job losses in west Auckland and Christchurch.

The New Zealand Comfort Group acquired the bedding, foam and furniture divisions of Avondale-based Dunlop Living, which employed 438 staff, in August. This country's furniture industry had struggled to compete against low-cost imports and, as a result, Dunlop's furniture-making division had been closed, the firm said.

General manager Chris Taylor said 150 staff had been affected, with 18 of those workers taking new roles within the Comfort Group.

The remaining 132 employees - including some staff from another Dunlop Living plant in Christchurch - had taken voluntary redundancy, he said.

The Comfort Group had encouraged workers to take up other positions available at combined manufacturing facilities. However, Taylor said new roles had not been available for all the affected staff.

Asked if a redundancy could be voluntary if no other job was available within the firm, he said: "It depends which way you look at it, I suppose."

Taylor said the redundancies had taken place in a "staggered process", starting about six weeks ago, with a number of workers still employed and "finishing up at the end of this month".

The company said the integration of the two businesses resulted in all of Dunlop Living's bedding manufacturing being consolidated into the Comfort Group's existing plants in Otahuhu and Hornby. Staff who had transferred to other facilities within the group had been provided with petrol vouchers to commute to the new job. Taylor said the company had helped find jobs outside the firm.

Taylor said it had been a difficult time for everyone involved.

"But the reality is that business is incredibly tough right now and we have to create a sustainable business that we can invest in and grow for the future," he said. "I think we're one of the few businesses that is actually acquiring businesses right now and investing in New Zealand ..."

In September the group said its foam latex plant in Christchurch would close this month, at the cost of 38 jobs. The company said it would soon invest in new foam manufacturing equipment that would be used at Dunlop Living's Avondale plant to make products for export to Australia.

Sleepyhead is the largest privately owned mattress, foam and carpet underlay manufacturer in Australasia, and has been owned by the Turner family since 1935. The Turner family was valued at $110 million in this year's National Business Review Rich List.