An Oamaru woman made redundant from the Summit Wool Spinners textile plant last year is still out of work and fears those about to be axed will face similar problems finding employment.
The former employee, who wished to remain anonymous, sympathised with the 192 employees who will lose their jobs with the sale of the troubled woollen mill to carpet manufacturer Godfrey Hirst.
She had worked at the plant for 35 years, before she lost her job in the June redundancies and said current staff would feel ''pretty ripped-off''.
''It's pretty bad for them all, because no-one knows what will happen.
''They are pretty gutted, because some families have both people working there. That's going to mean no jobs, possibly, for them.''
She added that since being made redundant seven months ago, she had still been unable to find work, and feared the same would be true of those that were cut this time around.
''Some of them might have options elsewhere, but it will mean moving from Oamaru. It's uprooting a whole town, really.
''They are going to have to uproot and start again, and some of them are not youngsters.''
Summit Wool Spinners financial director Ricky Hammond-Tooke said yesterday a closing date for the plant had not been finalised.
Mr Hammond-Tooke said the atmosphere in the plant yesterday was ''sombre'', but the workforce was still dedicated to producing high-quality products. Staff members had also rallied round each other.
''Some people were upset last night, but I think they are coming to terms with it. It's going to be an unsettling time for the staff, their families, and I think Oamaru is generally going to be a bit unsettled until things become clearer.
''In the circumstances, they are bearing up. There were some very positive people this morning and they were helping those who aren't finding it so easy to be positive.''
It is the second series of redundancies announced by the company, after 49 workers were laid off last June.
At major Oamaru employer Whitestone Cheese, chief executive Simon Berry said despite his company's growth, the happenings at Summit were a wake-up call for all businesses in the town.
''This really sends a strong message that we need to see a strategy somewhere to attract businesses to town. We can't just sit on our laurels with it. We have to think of how we attract people to town and businesses in particular, employers, manufacturers or whatever.
''It's almost a sign of the times, with manufacturers going off-shore, but I don't think we should be looking to the Government or passing blame on to foreign exchange rates. Rather than blaming, we need to be looking forward and thinking about things we can do to make things easier or more attractive.''
