Te Whakatohea Maori Trust Board in Opotiki is laying off seven staff - and is blaming the job cuts on Government funding changes to specialist training providers.
The $20 million Foundation-Focused Training Opportunities programme is being scrapped and replaced by other schemes for beneficiaries and people aged under 25 years.
The chief executive of the trust board, Dickie Farrar, says the changes came as a shock.
She says that three training providers in Opotiki will be affected, and they will leave a huge gap in a town that is trying to develop an economy based on aquaculture.
