Wilson told the Herald a “genuine” consultation has kicked off and he expected changes to be made between now and when decisions are made.
“It wouldn’t be appropriate for us to go into details on individuals and teams while we are in the consultation phase.
“What I can say is that moving more than 1350 people from one organisation to another is a huge undertaking and we’re approaching it with care and consideration for staff but also with the commitment to Aucklanders that transport operations and public transport services will be delivered as usual throughout.
“We have proposed a new transport and infrastructure delivery directorate where transport, stormwater, development, engineering, assets and technical advisory will be grouped together as well as proposed changes throughout the council’s organisation in areas such as strategy, policy, urban development, property and shared services.
“We have deliberately set out to organise the functions transferring to council in line with the council’s existing organisational strategy. At the same time, we have taken the opportunity to make improvements within and between directorates given the impact that the transport functions will have on the organisation,” Wilson said.
Wilson said the consultation process would be “critical”.
It was essential people realised no decisions would be made until all staff input had been considered.
Of Auckland Transport’s near 2000 staff, about a third are indicated to go to the new Public Transport CCO.
“Naturally, there is significant change coming out of this reform. In total, 180 roles across Auckland Transport and Auckland Council are proposed to be disestablished. However, new and different roles are being created so the proposed net reduction in roles, on paper, is about 20,” Wilson said.
“Importantly, we have taken a very prudent approach to filling vacancies in the months leading up to this point. We have built up a number of vacancies so that we can identify opportunities for efficiency without the cost of redundancy and without the consequences for our people.”
Mayor Wayne Brown has been a harsh critic of AT and campaigned on stripping the Council Controlled Organisation (CCO) of most of its powers.
A spokesman for the mayor told the Herald “there will be savings”, when asked how much money the proposals will save.
A council spokesperson told the Herald nothing had been confirmed and the potential loss of 20 jobs could change once the consultation period had ended.
AT would not comment on details such as how many staff from that organisation might lose their jobs and what teams were being restructured.
Auckland Council chief executive Phil Wilson
Interim Auckland Transport boss Stacey van der Putten said the change proposal under consultation was necessary as part of that six-month transition.
“AT will continue to work alongside Auckland Council to transition responsibilities, set up the new public transport organisation, and ensure services continue to be delivered through the six-month transition and beyond.”
Auckland Transport has appointed Stacey van der Putten as its interim chief executive.
Wilson said the new model will fundamentally change both organisations.
“We’ll create clearer accountability, better integration of land use, transport and infrastructure planning, a stronger partnership with Government, improved delivery and efficiency and a more co-ordinated approach to customer and stakeholder engagement.”
Wilson said the aim is to ensure the organisation had the skills, expertise and resources to deliver public transport services.
The restructure would mean more use of shared services across the council group and increased integration.
The proposal will be open for consultation with staff until Monday May 25.
Final structural decisions are likely to be made around July, with the new structure to be in place around October.
Stats NZ figures this week showed Auckland’s unemployment rate is much higher than the national rate of 5.3%.
Auckland’s rate increased from 6.4% to 6.6% in the March quarter, the highest since 2014.
Van der Putten was recently appointed as AT’s interim chief executive for 18 months.
The role pays $574,000 a year.
It followed the resignation in February of outgoing CEO Dean Kimpton before the imminent break-up of the transport agency.
Katie Bradford is a Senior Correspondent at the Herald. She has been a broadcast journalist for over 20 years and was based in the press gallery for 10 years. She specialises in politics, business and Auckland issues.