A sub-contractor who is owed over $1 million by Mainzeal says he does not expect to be paid.
The future of Mainzeal is unclear after the company was put in receivership on Wednesday, jeopardising the jobs of hundreds of employers as well as sub-contractors.
Mainzeal is New Zealand's third largest construction firm, behind Fletcher Construction and Hawkins.
Smith Cranes was sub-contracted to Mainzeal for the QEII stadium and Clarendon towers demolition, and is owed about $1 million for its work.
Its director Tim Smith says he and his staff scrambled on Wednesday to remove their machinery from construction sites for fear the receivers, Pricewaterhouse Coopers, would take possession of it.
He says he doesn't expect to be paid, but his company is large enough to absorb the loss.
Other sub-contractors have been left in limbo.
A carpenter in Wellington, Scott Reece, says all of his tools are at the site he's been working on, and it has been locked down by the receivers.
He says without his tools, he can't find work elsewhere.
"I'll financially have problems by the end of the week, it's as simple as that you know? Most guys that I know: labourers, carpenters, hammer hands live week-to-week.
"I've got two children and a wife, and I know a lot of other guys that are in the same boat."
