More than 50 workers at two North Island sawmills have been told they will lose their jobs.
The National Distribution Union (NDU) says 26 workers at the Carter Holt Harvey sawmill in Kawerau will be made redundant.
NDU spokesperson Rawiri Daniels says most of the people affected in the eastern Bay of Plenty town will struggle to find new jobs.
He says the announcement will put pressure on the whole community, in an area which already has high levels of unemployment.
Thirty jobs are going at the Prime Sawmill in Gisborne. Winstone Pulp International is mothballing the plant after a long-running battle to keep it open.
A small group of the workers will stay for about two months preparing the plant for the indefinite shut down.
