RPC Technologies has sacked 17 workers at Broadmeadow, Newcastle due to what it says is reduced demand.
The Newcastle Herald reports that those made redundant were 11 floor and six office workers, leaving 22. This is down from a peak of 80.
RPC makes glass-reinforced plastic pipefor the local, NZ, and Asia Pacific markets, as well as other composite solutions, including for the rail industry.
Managing director Tony Caristo said staff and skills levels had to be matched to work currently available, with the AMWU using the news to call for more trains to be built locally. The union also said more and more work was being outsourced by the company to Batam, Indonesia.