Twelve jobs at The Warehouse in South Dunedin are to go, out of 40 across the country, as the Red Shed retail giant ''realigns'' its online shopping division.
It was hoped most of those staff would be redeployed elsewhere in other positions.
The ODT was contacted about the potential staff losses, and the question was put to Warehouse chief executive Pejman Okhovat.
''As we announced earlier this year, we're making changes to our business in order to accelerate performance and remain relevant to our customers as their shopping behaviours change and the retail environment becomes even more competitive,'' Mr Okhovat said in an emailed statement.
The changes were being discussed with staff at present and the South Dunedin online centre was not due to close until February, he said.
He was asked if the online centralisation of jobs, understood to be to Christchurch and Auckland, was any way connected to Amazon's proposed entry to New Zealand and Australia, but he did not respond.
The US online shopping giant's pending incursion into Australia and New Zealand already has retailers concerned about loss of market share.
Mr Okhovat said 10 full-time and two part-time team members at South Dunedin ''fulfilment centre'' would be affected. None would be affected at the central Dunedin Warehouse, and the preference was that all would be redeployed to other roles.
Around the country, the change affected only about 40 team members and most would be redeployed to other jobs, Mr Okhovat said.
For its half year report, released in March, The Warehouse said group online sales were $106.2 million, up 25.1% compared with the same time a year ago.
The entire group's retail sales were up 3.3% to $1.61 billion for the period. Its full year report is expected on September 22.
