Christchurch venue manager Vbase confirms plan to reduce permanent staff by 60%

Christchurch City Council owned venues and events company Vbase Limited has today confirmed the outcome of its proposal to reduce permanent staff by 60%.

The proposal was a direct response to the company having endured a 100% loss of event revenue since 17th March and with the forecast slow recovery of the events sector, particularly as it relates to international events, over the next 12 to 18 months.

Following consultation and feedback from staff and other key stakeholders several changes were made to the original proposal resulting in the retention of some additional roles and the disestablishment of others.

Having originally proposed the disestablishment of 45 roles along with the potential for a further nine roles to be disestablished following an internal selection process, the final outcome of the process has confirmed 49 redundancies - represents 60% of permanent staff.

All casual staff and 34 full and part time roles have been retained to support the foreseeable needs of the company and clients.

A statement from the Vbase Board of Directors today advised “we are grateful for the consideration given to the change proposal by all staff. We recognise and respect their professional engagement in the process and support of the company and each other under such challenging circumstances”.

Management is now focussed on supporting the people who will be leaving Vbase over the coming weeks, progressing a programme of business improvement and preparing for a staged re-opening of the venues under COVID-19 Alert Level 1.

Vbase Limited is a Council Controlled Organisation that owns and manages Christchurch Town Hall and Horncastle Arena on behalf of the people of Christchurch and manages Airforce Museum of NZ, Orangetheory Stadium and Hagley Oval on behalf of other venue owners.

Image: Concert at the Horncastle Arena.