Foodstuffs South Island general manager retail, Tim Donaldson, said in a statement to the Otago Daily Times the supermarket had depended on a mix of international and domestic tourists, local residents and the business community.
Shutting down the international borders had a significant impact on the number of customers at the store, he said.
"Due to the reduction in customers at New World Wanaka, the store predicts a significant reduction in turnover for the foreseeable future, which means the owners had been left with no option but to reassess staff numbers and the other costs associated with running the store."
He said for some weeks the team at New World Wanaka had been working reduced hours while remaining on full pay.
"It’s been a very tough decision to make. The team ... do a great job and the owners are doing all they can to support them. However, the business believes this is the right decision to enable New World Wanaka to be sustainable and continue to provide employment in the future."
The number of jobs would be reduced from 134 to 105.
Fulltime staff hours, which have traditionally been 42½ per week were proposed to be reduced to 40 hours per week, which would enable the store to retain an additional six staff members, Mr Donaldson said.
Justin and Jocelyn Purcell took ownership of the Wanaka New World last August.
The former operators of Wanaka's New World supermarket, Dean and Natashia Bartley, opened a bigger New World supermarket in the Three Parks commercial area in December last year.
