New Zealand’s largest paper mill is proposing a halt to production in June 2025, affecting 230 jobs.

The proposal was presented to staff at Kinleith Mill at a meeting this morning.

In a statement, Oji Fibre Solutions chief executive officer Dr Jon Ryder said manufacturing paper has become “unprofitable”.

“Paper production at Kinleith Mill has suffered significant losses for several years and we see no prospect of the situation improving.”

Ryder said the company’s proposal was to “simplify operations” at the mill by focusing on pulp and “discontinuing lossmaking paper production”.

“We are consulting on a plan to permanently shut the Kinleith PM6 paper machine and move to a paper import model for our packaging operations.

Ryder said the exact number of potential job losses was “unknown at this stage”.

“However, we anticipate approximately 230 roles may be affected,” Ryder said.

“The wider impacts will become clearer as we work through the consultation period, through to a final decision and into next year.”

Ryder said according to the current proposal, Kinleith Mill would continue paper production through to the end of June 2025.

“This is a difficult change to propose because of the impact on our hard-working team,” Ryder said.

“We acknowledge the history and importance of Kinleith Mill in the local community and region and have made every effort to ensure we continue operating at the site.”

Ryder said the company would now enter into a consultation period with employees at the mill. The consultation period would end in early January.

“We anticipate announcing a decision by end of January.”

More to come.

Maryana Garcia is a Hamilton-based reporter covering breaking news in Waikato. She previously wrote for the Rotorua Daily Post and Bay of Plenty Times.