ACC to Cut 300 Jobs in Cost-Cutting MeasureACC to Cut 300 Jobs in Cost-Cutting Measure The Accident Compensation Corporation (ACC) has announced plans to cut 300 jobs as part of government-mandated cost-saving measures. Impact on Services ACC emphasizes that the cuts will not affect customer-facing teams. However, 85 vacant roles will be eliminated, and 66 new roles will be created to enhance service delivery. Reasoning and Feedback ACC’s CEO, Megan Main, explained that the decision aimed to streamline operations, reduce spending, and eliminate duplicate work. The agency has engaged with staff throughout the process and received over 750 feedback submissions. Concerns Raised The Public Service Association (PSA) has expressed concerns that the job cuts will impair ACC’s ability to fulfill its mission. The PSA believes that the cuts, particularly to injury prevention teams, will compromise workplace safety, sexual assault prevention, and road safety. Additional Positions Despite the job cuts, ACC plans to create approximately 250 additional frontline rehabilitation positions to enhance its capacity in that area. Implementation The new organizational structure is expected to become operational on September 12.
Report from RNZ
The Accident Compensation Corporation (ACC) has confirmed it will cut 300 jobs as part of government-mandated cost-saving measures. The reductions will be in areas outside of ACC’s customer-facing teams and will include 85 vacant roles.
Sixty-six new roles are being created to support the delivery of ACC’s services, bringing the total reduction from 366 roles to a net reduction of 300.
The agency is charged with preventing injuries and supporting people recovering from injuries and getting them back to work.
ACC had previously proposed a reduction of 390 jobs with a net loss of 325 jobs.
“We took an enterprise-wide approach to the proposal, examining all non-customer-facing parts of the organization to find opportunities to avoid duplication, reduce spending and stop work that is not closely linked to better results for our kiritaki (customers). ),” said ACC CEO Megan Main.
They had worked with staff throughout the process and received more than 750 feedback submissions, Main said.
“The feedback has provided great insights and I am confident that the final decisions will be better as a result.”
The new organizational structure is expected to be operational on September 12.
The Public Service Association said the job cuts meant the agency would not be able to fulfill its role as well as it could, calling the move a “dangerous cost-cutting exercise”.
“We have seen in the past that cuts to ACC lead to declining claims, limit clients’ access to entitlements (such as home care hours or home modifications) and put injured people back to work before they are ready,” said PSA Assistant Secretary Fleur Fitzsimons.
The PSA was concerned about cuts to injury prevention teams. “This is an absolutely vital area involving workplace safety, sexual assault prevention and road safety. This work is about preventing accidents and injuries from happening in the first place.”
“A government so focused on reducing costs and ‘better outcomes’ should invest more in these areas, not less.”
ACC is individually creating approximately 250 additional frontline rehabilitation positions.
“The decision to create more capacity within this part of the organization was an existing focus for us that coincided with the change process,” said Main.
Recruitment for these positions is ongoing.
