Air New Zealand is proposing to strip maintenance and engineering roles from both its Christchurch and Nelson operations, with more than a quarter of the Nelson workforce facing redundancy.

Nelson staff were told this week the airline wants to make 12 of the 53 engineers based there redundant, alongside four of the nine support staff.

The combined figure of 16 roles from a workforce of 62 represents a reduction of more than 25 percent.

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In Christchurch, nine light-maintenance roles are proposed to go, as first reported by Chris Lynch Media.

The team has already been through one round of heavy losses, with more than half its staff going during the Covid-19 pandemic, a source said.

Workers are preparing a counter proposal aimed at reducing the number of jobs lost, although the source expected the final cuts to be “significant” regardless of the outcome.

Concerns over how staff are being selected

Another well placed source raised concerns about the process being used to determine which employees could lose their jobs.

They said staff were being assessed using a selection matrix that placed significant weight on qualifications, technical skills and experience, an approach they believed could favour more senior engineers and leave younger, less experienced staff disproportionately affected.

Losing those workers could create longer-term problems for New Zealand’s aviation sector, the source warned, with a wave of experienced engineers approaching retirement and fewer people coming through behind them.

Qualified and trainee aircraft engineers are in strong demand in Australia, meaning some of those affected could find work across the Tasman.

The source said that would further erode New Zealand’s aviation engineering capability.

Chrislynchmedia.com first reported the Christchurch proposal, which affects a team carrying out “overnight maintenance and other day-to-day work required to keep aircraft operating.”

Further reductions are understood to be under consideration in Auckland, although the number of positions potentially affected there remains unclear.

The airline confirmed to Chris Lynch Media consultation was under way but declined to discuss the detail.

“As we’re currently consulting with our people on this matter, it isn’t appropriate for us to comment on potential outcomes, including any possible changes to roles,” an Air New Zealand spokesperson said.

“Our focus right now is on supporting our people through the consultation process, and we’ll communicate any decisions with those affected first once the process has concluded.”

Air New Zealand has not said what prompted the proposal, when consultation is expected to conclude, or whether the changes are connected to its wider cost-reduction programme.

The consultation follows a difficult financial year. The airline reported a $59 million loss before tax for the first half of the 2026 financial year, against a $144 million pre-tax profit in the same period a year earlier.

In May it forecast a full-year pre-tax loss of between $340 million and $390 million, driven largely by a fuel bill for the second half of the year that rose from about $740 million to roughly $980 million.

It has identified up to $100 million in annualised cost savings expected to take effect from the 2027 financial year, and announced a wider strategy reset in June aimed at returning the business to profitability.

No final decision on the Nelson or Christchurch roles has been announced.