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The confirmed cuts amounted to around 10 percent of GNS's workforce. Photo: Supplied / GNS An employee who has lost his job in cuts at GNS Science says looking for a new job is a scary prospect. Fifty-nine jobs are set to go at GNS Science as part of public sector job cuts. It is a small reduction from the 66 net roles GNS Science proposed cutting in July. GNS said 96 positions would be disestablished in total, of which 28 are currently vacant, and 37 new roles would be established. It said as a result of feedback to its proposed cuts, 29 changes were made to the proposals, including retaining seven roles that were initially proposed to be disestablished. The Public Service Association said the cuts include principal and senior scientists, geologists, geophysicists, geochemists, technic...

Nearly 90 percent of exporters reported higher costs in a new survey. File photo. Photo: 123rf New Zealand exporters are more upbeat about their prospects in the coming year, but continue to be beset by higher costs and market disruptions. The latest ExportNZ-DHL export barometer shows expectations of improved exports next year have risen to 58 percent of respondents, from 42 percent in last year's survey. But that has been tempered by nearly 90 percent reporting higher costs, with 55 percent facing supply chain and logistics issues, the high cost of doing business in New Zealand, and the value of the NZ dollar. DHL NZ vice president Selina Deadman said costs have risen by up to 49 percent for the vast majority of local exporters, but firms were looking for new ways to do business and i...

An award for "greenwashing excellence" was given to carbon neutral company Wright Communications, which works for Z Energy and Toyota. File photo. Photo: RNZ A certified carbon neutral PR company has been put on global "F List" for its work promoting fossil fuels through clients at Z Energy and Toyota. The F list is list of PR and advertising companies working for fossil fuel companies. It has been put together since 2021 by Comms Declare and Clean Creatives, two groups of ad and PR professionals trying to get agencies to cut ties with fossil fuel companies. So far the groups say 1000 agencies have signed up to swear off working with fossil fuel clients. This is the first time New Zealand companies have been on the list, with 14 New Zealand advertising agencies identified as having rece...

By Luc Cohen, Reuters Caroline Ellison, centre, arrives at court in New York for Sam Bankman-Fried's criminal trial in this file photo from 11 October 2023. Photo: JOHN NACION / AFP Former cryptocurrency executive Caroline Ellison was sentenced to two years in prison for her role in her former boyfriend Sam Bankman-Fried's theft of US$8 billion (NZ$12.5b) in customer funds from the now-bankrupt FTX exchange he founded, even as the judge recognized her extensive cooperation with prosecutors. US District Judge Lewis Kaplan said at a sentencing hearing in Manhattan federal court that he was not comfortable with remorse and cooperation being a "get out of jail free card" in a case so serious. Prosecutors have called Bankman-Fried's actions one of the biggest financial frauds in US histor...

Bendigo winegrower and Sustainable Tarras spokesperson Rob van der Mark said the local community was worried about the potential rapid industrialisation of their iconic landscapes. Photo: RNZ / Tess Brunton Central Otago locals are worried a proposed gold mine will hit industry and devastate the special - and spectacular - natural environment. Santana Minerals believes the hills between Bendigo and Ophir could hold $4.4 billion worth of gold, and started hosting community drop-in sessions this week. The company hopes to submit a fast track application in February if the new law passes, and offer 250 full time jobs living in the surrounding communities. A dirt road winds its way up the hills in Bendigo towards The Canyon at Tarras Vineyards, overlooking vineyards, farmland, the Clutha Ri...