Mr Brown told a Dunedin City Council economic development committee yesterday he knew of at least two firms which were going to establish businesses in Dunedin solely because of the workforce coming on stream from Fisher and Paykel.
Companies told him they could go to Auckland and pick up employees, but they would not get workers as reliable as those at Fisher and Paykel's Mosgiel plant.
Fisher and Paykel Appliances announced in April it was laying off 430 workers at its Mosgiel plant and moving production to Mexico.
The first redundancies were expected in December, with the last in May next year.
Mr Brown said the new jobs coming to the city would not cover all the job losses caused by the Fisher and Paykel move, but he hoped it would fill some of the gaps.
He declined to name the companies, or how many jobs were involved, when approached by the Otago Daily Times after the meeting, but said the companies had manufacturing bases in New Zealand and were expanding.
Mr Brown could not put a timetable on their arrival but said one company had already bought land in the Dunedin area.
