Staff at state housing provider Kāinga Ora fear front line services will suffer, as they expect hundreds of jobs are about to go, Green MP Tamatha Paul says. Photo: RNZ / Cole Eastham-Farrelly
Staff at the social housing agency Kāinga Ora are expecting details of another round of job cuts on Thursday, with Green Party housing spokesperson Tamatha Paul claiming more than 500 jobs are set to go.
Paul said she had heard from current staff at the agency that hundreds of jobs would be disestablished by the end of June.
Kāinga Ora chief executive Matt Crockett told RNZ in a statement that consultation on a restructure proposal would begin on Thursday, but would not confirm numbers.
The PSA would not comment on numbers either, but it said an announcement to staff was expected on Thursday at 3pm.
Have you been affected by the jobs cuts? Get in touch with us at kate.green@rnz.co.nz
Crockett said the intent of the restructure was "to redesign and resize the organisation to align and match our structure and workforce with the reset of Kāinga Ora".
Staff would receive more detail about it in the consultation documents, also due out on Thursday.
"We are mindful of the impact this may have on people so we will be making every effort to support them over this period," he said.
As of July 2024, Kāinga Ora employed 3438 staff.
This round of redundancies comes on top of 540 job cuts, which were confirmed in November.
That was a result of merging its urban planning, housing delivery and construction teams into one, called the housing delivery group, to reflect a drop in demand on the agency.
Staff told RNZ they were stressed, exhausted and disheartened.
Kāinga Ora homes in Richmond. The agency has been criticised for long waiting lists and empty houses, amidst a wider national housing crisis. Photo: RNZ / Samantha Gee
Paul said it signalled a "dismantling" of Kāinga Ora.
"We're really concerned about where these jobs will be taken away from within the organisation, and the broader picture that it paints for Kāinga Ora."
She said people working in pastoral care for tenants at the agency had told her they were concerned about their roles existing after Thursday's announcement.
A reduction of 500 roles would be "dire" for the agency, she said, and she was concerned for the welfare of tenants who she said would experience a reduced level of service and care due to the loss of front-line staff.
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