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Lane Walker Rudkin - Source: ONE News -
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Nearly half the workforce at an iconic kiwi clothing company have lost their jobs and told to go as soon as they were given the news.
Textile manufacturer Lane Walker Rudkin was placed in receivership last month after incurring a substantial increase in bank debt.
Christchurch employees were left devastated after being told of their redundancies.
"No holiday pay, no redundancy - we're coming out with nothing," said one staff after the meeting.
They are just some of 186 staff that is being axed nationwide, out of 460. There are over 100 in Christchurch, 61 in Greytown, 19 in Pahiatua and four from Auckland.
BDO Spicers say LWR's position remains difficult due to a substantial increase in bank debt.
They will not say how much but insiders spoken to by ONE News speculate it could be higher than $50 million.
"There was a lot of anger in there directed at the senior management of this company about how on earth it got to this stage - why did the bank leave it so long?" Paul Watson of the National Distribution Union, asks.
That anger is directed at Christchurch businessman Ken Anderson, who bought the company in 2001.
"I hope Mr Anderson is nice and comfortable in his penthouse and enjoys driving around in his flash car while we've got nothing," said one angry ex-employee.
ONE News has been trying to contact Anderson on Friday at his inner city apartment and the family home in Fendalton, but there has been no reply.
It is a sad chapter for the company, which once manufactured the All Black jersey and can trace its roots back over a century.
"John Key speaks a lot about trying to save iconic New Zealand companies, how he worked for this company. The government needs to front up and do something for these workers," says Watson.
The Prime Minister says the government's Re-start Programme will help support these axed workers in the short term, however he also questions the company's collapse.
"I'm not actually convinced it was the recession that's caused the collapse in Lane Walker Rudkin, there are other issues and factors at play," he says.
