Workers laid off at Invercargill tourism hotspot Transport World

Friday, 1 May 2020

Transport World executive director Jocelyn O'Donnell has announced job losses at the Invercargill tourism business.

The Transport World tourist attraction in Invercargill has made 12 staff redundant and the survival of the business is dependent on local and domestic support, the executive director says.

Jocelyn O’Donnell said she was ''deeply saddened'' to confirm redundancies had been made within the organisation.

''Without doing so, Transport World’s operations would be unsustainable and our organisation would not survive.''

The 12 redundancies of three full-time staff and nine part-timers equated to 30 per cent of roles within Transport World businesses.

The businesses affected were Bill Richardson Transport World, Classic Motorcycle Mecca, Dig This Invercargill and The Lodges boutique apartments.

All remaining staff have had their hours reduced and O'Donnell said she was on a reduced salary, while some staff had been redeployed into other areas of the business.

All staff, including those whose roles had been disestablished, would continue to receive the Government wage subsidy in full, she said.

O'Donnell said the Covid-19 pandemic had had a heartbreaking impact on New Zealand’s tourism sector and it may be many months, possibly years, before the industry recovered.

Transport World closed its attractions before New Zealand entered the Level 4 lockdown, to keep its staff and guests safe, she said.

''Many of our visitors are from the international market and with New Zealand’s borders expected to be closed for some time, our organisation has already been significantly impacted as a result.

''We dearly want to keep our doors open but our survival is all going to be dependent on local and domestic support.

''Our products – Bill Richardson Transport World, Classic Motorcycle Mecca, and Dig This Invercargill – have helped bring visitors to Invercargill and we want to continue contributing to our city’s economy and vitality.

However, no tourism business could survive for long without visitors, she said.

''We have gone from hosting tens of thousands of visitors to zero.''

The decision to restructure Transport World was not made lightly, she said.

Transport World was part of a family-run organisation and the team was ''tight-knit''.

''I have appreciated the contributions of every person who has been part of the wider Transport World family,and I sincerely regret that we have had to make these changes.''

Transport World would continue to offer affected staff support, she said.

The Transport World redundancies follow the Gore District Council this week saying it had issued redundancy notices to 17- part-time staff employed at the Gore Aquatic Centre and MLT Event Centre which were both currently closed in Alert Level 3.

Ngai Tahu said on April 23 it was considering laying off 300 workers which would more than halve Ngai Tahu Tourism's 500-strong workforce, such was the impact Covid-19 was having on tourism.