{"id":448155,"date":"2026-05-27T18:35:29","date_gmt":"2026-05-27T18:35:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/448155\/"},"modified":"2026-05-27T18:35:29","modified_gmt":"2026-05-27T18:35:29","slug":"one-in-three-to-cut-staff-cost-crunch-threatens-tradies-housing-targets","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/448155\/","title":{"rendered":"\u2018One in three\u2019 to cut staff: cost crunch threatens tradies, housing targets"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Construction<\/p>\n

Tradie lay-offs are looming as new data shows rising costs are hitting trade employers. Photo: iStock.<\/p>\n

More tradie lay-offs are looming as new data shows rising costs are forcing employers to consider cutting staff as a new report urges governments to scale modern methods of construction to hit ambitious build targets.<\/p>\n

New survey data from the Institute of Automotive Mechanical Engineers (IAME) shows 93 per cent of trade businesses are under moderate to very high financial pressure, with nearly three quarters reporting worsening conditions over the past year.<\/p>\n

RELATED: Aussie reno queen unleashes world-first robot tradie on live build<\/a><\/p>\n

Tradie turned developer reveals how he transforms post-war eyesores into millions<\/a><\/p>\n

\"\"\/<\/p>\n

More than one in three trade businesses may reduce staff or apprentices if current conditions persist, a new survey has found.<\/p>\n

And, more than one in three businesses may reduce staff or apprentices if current conditions persist, the survey suggests.<\/p>\n

ASIC insolvency figures show construction accounts for about one in four company collapses, with subcontractors, builders and trade firms squeezed by rising labour, insurance and materials costs.<\/p>\n

At the same time, a Committee for Economic Development of Australia (CEDA) report with Urbis argues the industry must \u201cbuild differently\u201d to lift supply. <\/p>\n

\u2018Built Different: Modern Methods of Construction\u2019 has found scaling modular and off\u2011site manufacturing, prefabrication, 3D printing, robotics and AI could cut build times by 20 to 50 per cent and reduce costs by about 20 per cent at scale. <\/p>\n

\"\"\/<\/p>\n

CEDA and Urbis are calling on governments to adopt modern construction methods to meet housing targets.<\/p>\n

MORE: $4.3 billion overdue: construction tops ATO tax hit list<\/a><\/p>\n

It warns Australia is falling short of the National Housing Accord\u2019s 1.2 million new dwellings by 2029.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe speed at which new dwellings can be delivered is now a critical constraint,\u201d CEDA head of research Danika Adams said.<\/p>\n

She said dwellings built per construction worker had fallen 40 per cent since the 1970s, build times were up 40 per cent since the pandemic, and construction costs had surged 88 per cent since 2014\u201315. <\/p>\n

\u201cTraditional construction is not keeping up. These methods already exist, they work, and the challenge now is scaling.\u201d<\/p>\n

CEDA and Urbis want state governments to lead the shift, align planning, regulation, procurement, finance and supply chains, and prioritise regional and social housing. <\/p>\n

\"City<\/p>\n

CEDA and Urbis want state governments to lead the shift, align planning, regulation, procurement, finance and supply chains, and prioritise regional and social housing.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe know this is a system\u2011wide challenge, which means it also needs a system\u2011wide response,\u201d Urbis partner Clinton Ostwald said.<\/p>\n

The recommendations collide with a labour market under pressure. <\/p>\n

Apprenticeships Are Us managing director Michael Wentworth said the IAME findings reinforced concerns about the next generation entering the trade sector and were a potential blow to workforce participation and training pathways at a time of acute skills demand. <\/p>\n

\u201cWe are seeing strong interest from young Australians who want to build careers in the trades, which is encouraging,\u201d Mr Wentworth said. <\/p>\n

\u201cBut the reality is they are now competing for fewer opportunities, due to the economic strain businesses are under, and many will also be managing their own personal cost of living pressures at the same time as they start out on apprentice wages.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Tradie lay-offs are looming as new data shows rising costs are hitting trade employers. Photo: iStock. More tradie…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":448156,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[11],"tags":[138,219,111,139,69],"class_list":["post-448155","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-economy","tag-business","tag-economy","tag-new-zealand","tag-newzealand","tag-nz"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/448155","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=448155"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/448155\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/448156"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=448155"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=448155"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=448155"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}