Last week, First Union (formerly NDU) announced Cavalier had made 22 workers and some management redundant across its Wiri, Napier and Wanganui mills, while Norman Ellison Carpets, which is 70% owned by Cavalier, made 20 workers redundant at its Onehunga yarn mill this week.

The union, which attributed a combination of a high wool price, lack of new housing starts and the lack of progress on the Canterbury rebuild, said it would not be surprised to see further job losses at other mills.

Read more in today's Otago Daily Times here.