“One of the ladies who works here said, thank God, I will be able to pay my mortgage off in that four years. The relief on her face was just incredible.”
The four years gave him time to adapt and redeploy staff to other areas when the smelter did eventually close, he said.
The news was also welcomed by Ryan Harvey, the engineering operations manager of Invercargill based Sheet Metalcraft which does work for the smelter.
“It's a great day for Southland,” he said.
Harvey said the feeling at his workplace was one of relief.
“My wife works [at Tiwai] so it’s a good day for her as well. She's relieved.”