Woolworths New Zealand is proposing to cut about 130 customer care roles as part of a plan to integrate its customer service operations with the company’s established support services in Sydney, Australia.
According to a report by the New Zealand Herald, Union Workers First said affected employees were called to a meeting at 1pm today and would have until September 15 to provide feedback on the proposal.
A Woolworths spokesperson told the Herald that the company was exploring the integration to make use of the Woolworths Group’s existing systems, expertise and scale.
“The proposal is designed to explore the use of Woolworths Group’s scale, systems and expertise to provide customer service for Kiwi customers while supporting a simpler, more sustainable New Zealand business.
“We acknowledge proposals like this have an impact on our team and we don’t take that lightly, the New Zealand Herald has quoted.
“Right now our primary focus is on supporting those team members and ensuring customers are not impacted while we consider the proposal.”
Workers First deputy secretary Rudd Hughes said the proposed cuts would have a significant impact on employees, many of whom work remotely.
“Many of the customer care team are sole parents who work remotely and will not find redeployment or comparable employment in their regions,” Workers First deputy secretary Rudd Hughes said, as quoted by the New Zealand Herald.
“This proposal will be crushing to hear about today.”
Hughes said the union had already submitted feedback and would continue representing affected workers throughout the consultation process.
“This is yet another example of New Zealanders losing out to Australia because companies like Woolworths see them as expendable,” he said, the New Zealand Herald has quoted.
“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 100 of our jobs to save a very small amount of money over the next three years.
“There should be a reasonable expectation that a large company like Woolworths should reinvest into the society where its customer base is generating those profits, but Woolworths seems to care only about their bottom lines,” as quoted by the New Zealand Herald.
Hughes also warned that shifting customer care operations could affect the quality of service received by New Zealand customers.
“Someone calling from Paekākāriki to inquire about a product return, for example, may find it much more difficult to deal with an Australian who lacks local knowledge and local experience,” he said, the New Zealand Herald has quoted.
The proposed job cuts come as Woolworths NZ reported total sales of $8.49 billion for the 52 weeks ended June 28, 2026, an increase of 2.5% from $8.28 billion the previous year.
The company’s earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) also rose 3.9%, from $515 million to $536 million. Earnings before interest and tax (EBIT) increased 8.8% to $163 million, with an EBIT margin of 1.9%, as reported by the New Zealand Herald.
The proposal remains subject to consultation, with affected employees able to submit feedback until September 15.