More jobs gone at Solid Energy – thanks Bill English

Written By: - Date published: 9:58 am, May 8th, 2015 - 11 comments
Categories: bill english, business, economy, energy, Mining, national - Tags: , , ,

In the news yesterday:

Solid Energy expected to axe more jobs, $300m in debt
…
[Solid Energy] which runs mines in Waikato, West Coast and Southland, owes around $300 million to banks and has twice been bailed out by the Government. It has racked up debt after embarking on projects that were hit by a slump in world energy prices.

And:

Stockton job losses confirmed

More than 100 people will lose their jobs at Solid Energy’s Stockton Mine, in Buller, the State-owned company has announced.

Solid Energy chief executive Dan Clifford said the number of jobs at the mine would go from 397 to 246. However, 38 roles were already vacant so the total number of redundancies would be 113.
…
Last year 184 staff were laid off from the financially troubled mine – about a third of its workforce.

What the first article doesn’t tell you is that state owned Solid Energy ran up this debt at the instruction of Bill English, despite warnings of the projected slump. Bill English killed Solid Energy, these job losses are his.

11 comments on “More jobs gone at Solid Energy – thanks Bill English ”

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  1. johnm 1
    8 May 2015 at 10:12 am

    The Bean Counter strikes again, at this rate all our beans will be given away in tax cuts, bean revenue flogged off i.e. power companies plus the rest of our beans owed to banks meaning his wonderful bean economy will have to take from the poor.

    ” Bill English’s refusal in Parliament today to rule out selling state houses to non-resident foreign individuals or companies, or put a restriction on those groups selling them on for non social-housing use, demonstrates that the Government’s “social housing reform” is just a state-house sell off. “

  2. tc 2
    8 May 2015 at 10:14 am

    Next steps will be it gets flogged to the backers probably using urgency as the first stage has been completed I.e. Making it unattractive to the taxpayer by deliberately overloading it with debt to partially plug their tax cut swindle.

  3. Wensleydale 3
    8 May 2015 at 10:45 am

    How do you do this to your own countrymen; people with families and children, and not feel like an absolute fucking Judas? I just can’t get my head around it.

    Incidentally, NZ Post is currently being squeezed for a larger dividend, despite being an industry on the verge of obsolescence, desperately scrambling to save itself. Job cuts on the horizon yet again, kids!

    Fucking National. What a sorry collection of utter bastards.

  4. Gosman 4
    8 May 2015 at 10:47 am

    Why is Bill English single handedly responsible for the fall in the global proce of coal?

    • r0b 4.1
      8 May 2015 at 10:58 am

      He isn’t. He is responsible for loading the company up with debt even though he was warned that the price was going to fall,and thus making it vulnerable.

    • Stuart Munro 4.2
      9 May 2015 at 12:36 pm

      Bill English is never responsible for anything – seven years without the promised surplus – most people get written off for three broken promises.

      Still I guess hope springs eternal in crazy far-right neo-liberal cultists. 25 years of Brash’s unrelenting failure haven’t taught them a thing.

  5. philj 5
    8 May 2015 at 10:49 am

    Anyone recall the BNZ sell off, or was it given away? Hard to remember the details of that murky train wreck.

  6. John 6
    8 May 2015 at 11:15 am

    How can the Ministers of this Government Department as well as CEO’s etc be allowed to continue to let the company trade when it is clear that it is insolvent and shouldn’t be trading. Under the Companies Act they are personally liable aren’t they.

    • dukeofurl 6.1
      8 May 2015 at 11:50 am

      They have a guarantee letter from the Minister of Finance.

      This would cover the creditors in day to day running of business.

      Doesnt cover the banks holding debt- but you never know with English as he has form for letting vulture lenders walk away with taxpayers money

    • One Anonymous Bloke 6.2
      8 May 2015 at 1:55 pm

      They would be*. Except the National Party gave them an indemnity so as to pervert the course of justice.

      *unless of course, their lawyers successfully argued that the orders they were given by Bill English are a defence.