ELE group collapse: Workers receive offers of help, Deloitte says

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Receivers Deloitte have been working with customers, industry groups, and government agencies to find new jobs for staff affected. (file image)
Photo: RNZ / Kim Baker Wilson

The receivers of the ELE labour hire and recruitment firm say they have had offers of help for the staff affected by its collapse.

More than 1000 permanent staff, casual workers and contractors have been hit by the closure of five companies in the group.

Deloitte’s David Webb said numerous offers of help for staff had been received and some had already got new jobs.

“At this time of the year, it is especially heartening to see the outpouring of support, and it continues to drive us to assist all those affected as best as we are able.”

The receivers had been working with customers, industry groups, and government agencies to find new jobs for staff affected, he said.

ELE recruited staff in New Zealand and overseas for the building, manufacturing, and healthcare sectors, and also offered refrigerated transport and freight services, through a subsidiary.

The receivers were called in by the group’s sole director, Brent Mulholland, after it failed to sell businesses or get further finance, but the extent of its debts have yet to be detailed.

One company in the group, ELE Security, escaped the receivership and was already attracting interest.

“We have also received several initial expressions of interest in ELE Security and the receivers will undertake a process to facilitate a sale to realise ELE Limited’s investment in ELE Security Limited,” Webb said.

The business provided security guards for various hospital, retail, and bank facilities.

There was no further detail about the 500 foreign construction workers brought in on temporary visas, who under the terms of their visa are tied to a specific employer unless granted a change of conditions, or allowed to get a different job.

Co-ordinator of the Union Network of Migrants, Mikee Santos said the layoffs were the biggest blow to Aotearoa’s Filipino community this year.

He hoped a meeting today, bringing together hundreds of those who lost their jobs, would give them some certainty about future work.

Santos said the Filipino community has had a tough year already, with many other companies also laying off workers.