About 130 Woolworths New Zealand workers could lose their jobs under a proposal to move the company’s customer care operation to Australia.

Workers First said affected employees were called to a meeting at 1pm today and told consultation had begun on the proposed closure of the New Zealand Customer Care Centre.

The union said Woolworths expected the proposal to save $4.1 million by the 2029 financial year.

Affected employees have until September 15 to provide feedback.

Workers First Deputy Secretary Rudd Hughes accused Woolworths of treating its New Zealand workforce as expendable.

“They’re happy to earn big profits in our country and make Kiwis reliant on their supermarkets, but they are planning to throw away more than a hundred of our jobs to save a very small amount of money over the next three years.”

Hughes said union organisers reported that Woolworths representatives read from a script during the 20 minute meeting and did not answer questions.

Organisers said some employees returned to work in tears.

“Many of the Customer Care team are sole parents who work remotely and will not find redeployment or comparable employment in their regions. This proposal will be crushing to hear about today,” Hughes said.

The union warned moving the service to Australia could also affect customers seeking help from staff without local knowledge.

Woolworths recently reported $163 million in earnings before interest and tax for the year to June 2026, an increase of 8.8 percent from the previous year.

The proposal follows a recent restructure of Woolworths’ South Island butchery operations, which Workers First said resulted in about 40 jobs being lost.

Workers First said it had submitted feedback to Woolworths and would continue representing union members during the consultation process.

Woolworths has been approached for comment.