The Nelson-Tasman region is reeling from devastating floods, the closure of its largest sawmill and the potential loss of more than 100 additional jobs across the manufacturing sector.
In August, Carter Holt Harvey told staff it would shut the Eves Valley Sawmill and consolidating operations to Kawerau, resulting in the loss of 142 jobs.
The following day, Sealord announced it was proposing to cut 79 permanent jobs and close its coated fish factory in Nelson.
Griffin's Snacks has since told staff about a plan to close its Nelson factory that produces Proper Crisps, and move operations to Auckland from late 2027 and early 2028, affecting 47 staff.
Kono announced it would wind down brewing operations at Motueka-based craft brewery Hop Federation from next month with the loss of five jobs, while Kitchen Things has permanently closed its Nelson store and others around the country, after it was placed into receivership.
NZ King Salmon also announced it had bought an $8.14 million site in Blenheim and would eventually move away from its Nelson factory, as it looked to expand its open ocean farm Blue Endeavour in Cook Strait.
In August, Prime Minister Christopher Luxon told reporters that the country was on the path to economic recovery, despite companies posting losses and cutting jobs.
On Friday, he said he was aware Nelson faced challenges with some of its major employers, but the dairy, red meat and horticulture sectors across other parts of the South Island were seeing record exports, which meant the economies were in a growth phase.
"You've got farmer confidence the highest it has been since 2017, you've seen that with Rabobank and Federated Farmers data, so that's positive for New Zealand," he said.
"It is agriculture and our primary industries powering us out of this recession - our real challenge is to make sure we see growth coming through in Auckland and Wellington."
Nelson Tasman Chamber of Commerce chief executive Ali Boswijk said the region was a great incubator for brands that were born, then later sold, and their operations inevitably moved on.
"There's a lot of great entrepreneurial businesses here," she said. "People are really great at that gourmet food production and Proper Crisps was no exception.
"I think that they get to a certain size and Nelson doesn't serve the purpose of the company, given the scale that they're at."
She said there was some irony in the fact the chip company was bought by Griffin's, because the company also began in Nelson and later moved its operations elsewhere.
The biscuit company was started by John Griffin in the late 1860s and, 100 years later, was bought by American company Nabisco, which decided to close the Nelson factory in 1988, resulting in the loss of 137 jobs.
Boswijk said it showed the region had a history of supporting business growth, but unfortunately could not continue to support them here.
"Food products, when they're looking for distribution, international distribution, we're always going to have that distance aspect. We're not on the main arterial route.
"We know that shipping has become problematic post-Covid. It's got more expensive and the cost of everything has increased, so it makes sense, from a business perspective, to move closer to your markets."
Boswijk said she had no doubt other businesses would rise up and take the place of those that had left.
Tourism also remained a big industry for the region and, while it was a seasonal economy, she said, 30 years ago, the number of international tourists who visited in summer was now the number the region saw over the winter months.
"You can see how that industry's grown," Boswijk said. "We know that there are 70,000 more tourists coming to New Zealand this year, so we've just got to make sure that Nelson can get a piece of action too."
Released last week, Stats NZ's business employment data for the June quarter showed the number of filled jobs dropped 10,000 in three months, with 50,000 fewer jobs than in December 2023.
In the last quarter, Nelson lost 197 jobs and Tasman lost 72.
The country's GDP also shrank 0.9 percent in the June quarter, about double the forecast drop.
Nelson 'punch drunk on bad news'
Nelson Regional Economic Development Agency chief executive Fiona Wilson said conservative estimates were that the impact of the floods on the primary industry and tourism sectors would cost more than $50m in lost GDP over the coming year alone, with the series of announcements affecting more than 300 jobs, bringing the total impact to about 1% of the country's GDP.
"In terms of resilience, longer term, we need to keep focus on supporting opportunities in the region, helping businesses grow their productivity, profile the region for investment and getting a strong message out to bring in visitors to support spend in the region," she said.
Nelson Mayor Nick Smith said the region was almost "punch drunk on bad news" and it had been the worst four months he could recall in 30 years of public service. Despite that, he was optimistic about the year ahead.
"We've got a major new hospital rebuild. On Friday, the Government - through FastTrack - approved a new subdivision of many hundreds of houses that is good for the city.
"Our own city council is investing in a major bridge to better project that's coming on stream next year. We will turn this around."
After the closures, Smith said the region was keen to put a case to government to progress a regional deal that would enable it to find those opportunities for the region to recover.
He said work was needed to look after businesses in the region, as well as consider opportunities to find new industries to replace those being lost.
E tū national secretary Rachel Mackintosh said the country's regional manufacturing sector had been dealt several blows, but it was "kind of extreme" in Nelson.
Many workers facing the loss of their jobs were worried they would be competing with their colleagues in the job market and some faced leaving their communities, if they could not find employment.
Mackintosh said the Government could do more to help.
"They could have a policy where they support regional production, regional economies, which they're not doing," she said.
"They could fix the electricity market, so that power is not a huge cost for people, but also they could also send a signal to employers that they expect them to take responsibility and not maximise their profits at the expense of the communities that they operate in."
She feared more job losses could be on the cards for the region.
"I hate to try and predict the future, but when you see the economy shrinking and you start to see a trend, you just fear that there could be more of this, absolutely. It's kind of a gouging of people's lives and of communities that takes a long time to recover from.
"It's much easier to cut than it is to rebuild."
Nelson Member of Parliament Rachel Boyack said economic failure was hitting the region hard, and the most recent proposed factory closure brought potential job losses into the hundreds, with families paying the price.
"Yesterday's GDP data was a damning verdict on National's inability to run the economy," she said. "The numbers don't lie - New Zealand is going backwards under their watch.
"The consequences are real - businesses are closing, jobs are being lost and families are paying the price."
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