Fisher & Paykel will make 29 workers at its Auckland fridge production factory redundant, with their jobs heading offshore.
The Engineering, Printing and Manufacturing Union (EPMU) says its members, and members of FIRST Union, were told of the job losses at a meeting yesterday afternoon.
Union members made redundant will receive a redundancy package as part of their collective agreement.
EPMU national secretary Bill Newson says one of the company's fridge production lines is being discontinued in Auckland and sent to the company's Thailand factory.
Both unions were critical of the decision, saying low wages at the factory in Rayong were a "significant problem" for workers there.
"We are doubly disappointed that not only is Fisher & Paykel exiting from good jobs that are paid well above the minimum wage in New Zealand, but when it goes to Thailand, it is refusing to collectively bargain for any wage rate other than the minimum wage in that region of the country," FIRST Union general secretary Robert Reid said.
"Thailand is already a low wage country, and Fisher & Paykel needs to pull back from its stubborn approach to wage negotiations with the Thai workers, and start paying workers properly when it does shift production overseas."
Mr Newson said the announcement was more bad news for the manufacturing sector, which was suffering from inadequate government support.
"These are good quality Kiwi jobs and unless the Government takes practical steps to better support manufacturing, then we will see more skilled workers heading overseas," he said.
The job losses follow redundancies at other companies including Flotech, Summit Wool Spinners and Norman Ellison Carpets.
NZN