Around 130 jobs will be affected by the closure
Woolworths has confirmed the closure of its customer care operations in New Zealand, in what it described as a "difficult decision" that will move hundreds of jobs to Australia.
The supermarket giant confirmed the development to HRD New Zealand, saying it will integrate its Auckland customer care operations into Woolworths Group's existing customer support network in Sydney.
"This has been a difficult decision, and we recognise the significant impact it has on our customer care team members who have served our Kiwi customers with dedication for many years," said Mark Wolfenden, Director of Digital and eCommerce, in a statement to HRD New Zealand.
"We have taken on feedback received during the consultation process, and adjusted our approach accordingly, however we will progress with the core elements of the proposal."
Woolworths started the consultation on the changes to its customer care operations on 1 September.
It said the move reflects a wider effort to simplify operations, remove duplicated overheads and ensure long-term sustainability across the New Zealand business.
'Short-sighted' move from Woolworths
Around 130 jobs will be affected by the change, according to Workers First Union, which slammed the supermarket for the move.
"It's short-sighted, it's greedy, and it's a company turning its back on a country it has extracted mega-profits from," said Rudd Hughes, Workers First Deputy Secretary.
"Woolworths has just banked $163 million in earnings from Kiwi shoppers, and its response is to put 130 New Zealanders out of work to save pocket change."
The union also accused the supermarket of "taking advantage" of Kiwi workers, saying they spent the year putting into new systems and training AI tools, which will be used to train Australian workers.
Supporting affected team members
Wolfenden said the company's "absolute priority" is supporting every affected team member, including providing employee counselling for workers and their families, as well as redundancy compensation.
"We are working one-on-one with each team member to explore genuine redeployment opportunities across our supermarket network, supply chain, and broader business, including ring-fencing vacant roles," the director said.
"We have engaged specialist career transition partners and are proactively connecting with local employers who are actively recruiting for customer support talent."
