{"id":567323,"date":"2026-08-13T02:08:12","date_gmt":"2026-08-13T02:08:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/567323\/"},"modified":"2026-08-13T02:08:12","modified_gmt":"2026-08-13T02:08:12","slug":"cost-of-living-crisis-hits-casino-operator-skycity-hundreds-of-jobs-at-risk","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/567323\/","title":{"rendered":"Cost-of-living crisis hits casino operator SkyCity, hundreds of jobs at risk"},"content":{"rendered":"

Casino operator SkyCity is proposing a restructure which could affect 200 roles, citing economic challenges.<\/p>\n

In a statement, the company said the restructuring would mainly be in its Auckland precinct. The company had around 2860 staff in Auckland, according to its annual report last year.<\/p>\n

Consultation started on Tuesday, and the company said it would continue over the next two weeks.<\/p>\n

SkyCity said it was reviewing its operating model amid “sustained pressure on customers’ discretionary spending”, driven in part by the fuel crisis<\/a> and cost-of-living challenges<\/a> on both sides of the Tasman.<\/p>\n

“The economic conditions facing our business are real, and they require us to make some hard choices about how we’re set up for the future,” SkyCity chief executive Jason Walbridge said.<\/p>\n

“We’re reshaping how our people are deployed across the group, so we’re simpler, smarter and more connected.”<\/p>\n

\"SkyCity<\/p>\n

Jason Walbridge.<\/p>\n

RNZ \/ Cole Eastham-Farrelly<\/p>\n

SkyCity said it would change how staff were deployed across the business and become a “simpler, smarter and more connected” company.<\/p>\n

It said any changes would be subject to “genuine consultation” with affected staff and their representatives.<\/p>\n

“No decisions have been made,” Walbridge said.<\/p>\n

“We’ll consult with our people before anything is finalised, and our focus remains on supporting them through any change and on building a stronger SkyCity.”<\/p>\n

SkyCity was due to report its full-year results next week and declined to be interviewed.<\/p>\n

The company flagged falling revenue at its half-year results<\/a> announced in February, as it faced regulatory costs and operational changes. However, its profit doubled to just over $12 million.<\/p>\n

Unite Union, which represents staff at SkyCity, said most of the proposed job cuts were in corporate functions, although some front line staff were affected.<\/p>\n

The union’s assistant secretary for Auckland, Tali Williams, said it was a bitter pill for staff to swallow.<\/p>\n

“Profitable companies like SkyCity should keep people employed in these challenging economic times, they can afford to and should,” Williams said.<\/p>\n

“Sure it’s tough times, but they are profitable, they continue to invest in places such as the International Convention Centre.”<\/p>\n

Williams said behind every redundancy was a person, household and a family budget.<\/p>\n

“These aren’t just numbers. Workers are already dealing with the high cost of living and a very difficult employment market, and the last thing they need is the uncertainty of losing their livelihood.”<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Casino operator SkyCity is proposing a restructure which could affect 200 roles, citing economic challenges. In a statement,…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":567324,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[138,111,139,69],"class_list":["post-567323","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-business","tag-business","tag-new-zealand","tag-newzealand","tag-nz"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/567323","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=567323"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/567323\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/567324"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=567323"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=567323"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=567323"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}