Hundreds of staff at the National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research (NIWA) say they've lost confidence in senior management at the organisation and are worried about the future needs of Aotearoa as job cuts loom.
An open letter has been electronically signed by over 250 staff members in just a few days, despite obstacles in dispersing it to staff.
It comes as NIWA, a Crown Research Institute incorporated as a company, has told staff between 85 and 90 positions will be lost - about 13 percent of its workforce.
Public services have been making staff cuts to meet the Government's cost-cutting targets.
The scathing letter from "concerned staff" at NIWA says there has been a lack of transparency and communication in the change process from senior management, as well as poor understanding of its end goal and a lack of responsibility from senior management about their role in the current financial state of NIWA.
Staff agree the economic environment is "challenging", but are not happy with the way NIWA is addressing the issue.
"The present round of restructuring and associated redundancies has been undertaken with no apparent overarching guiding document nor strategy. Neither the wider strategy and/or the evidence of how the organisational change will improve NIWA's financial sustainability have been made apparent. This is vital information especially to the affected individuals," the letter says.
"Particularly worrying is that decisions appear to be more for short term operational reasons rather than to strategically set NIWA up to thrive in an increasingly uncertain world. We need to be able to respond to the future needs of Aotearoa New Zealand after the economy has recovered.
"It is not clear to us there any forethought has been given to the future science direction of NIWA and the potential loss of capability when entire teams are proposed to be established. Also, it is not clear that any thought has been put into the reputational risk that will be impacted by the current change proposals."
Staff disagree with the chief executive's assertion that "90 percent of staff will be unaffected" by the restructure.
"The impacts are not limited to individuals and teams. The loss of critical project team members will affect project quality and delivery and this, in turn, will cause increased workloads on remaining staff. The potential loss of trusted colleagues, some we have worked with for 10-20 years or more, is already having a profound personal and professional impact on many of us.
"Science organisations rely on attracting and retaining the best science, technical and support staff, many of whom have dedicated their working lives to research vital for our nation and our future. New ways need to be explored to ensure the longevity of NIWA as a premier research organisation, delivering for the public good of the nation, not one that overreact to short term challenges by risking the very reason for its excellence."
Newshub reached out to NIWA, however the organisation said it would not be commenting further on the consultation and review process while it is underway.
