Today brings an end to Dunedin and Queenstown’s Oceania Aviation facilities and the loss of 17 jobs.
The aviation services and sales company Oceania Aviation confirmed this week it would go ahead with its earlier proposal to shut the two Otago sites and a facility in Nelson — shutting the doors for good today.
“It is with great sadness that we can confirm the final closure of our Queenstown and Dunedin maintenance facilities," Oceania Aviation chief executive Nick Mair said.
"While significant efforts have been made to redeploy affected staff into other areas of the business, unfortunately this has resulted in the loss of 17 roles in the Otago region."
The closures were necessary as part of the business’ response to Covid-19, Mr Mair said.
"We do not take the loss of any of our talented staff lightly, however, we remain committed to supporting the aviation industry across New Zealand."
Oceania Aviation’s leadership team had taken a "significant voluntary reduction in salary" and it had used the wage subsidy to try deal with the impact Covid-19 had on its business.
" ... the business still finds itself in a position where we have to consider other ways to reduce costs and remain viable," Mr Mair said in April.
Before Covid-19 hit, Oceania Aviation employed more than 180 workers in five locations throughout the country.
