Chippie’s mega merger needs a half billion bailout

Stuff reports:

Te Pūkenga – the organisation that now runs the country’s polytechs – needs a further cash injection of almost half a billion dollars, according to figures seen by Stuff.

A yet-to-be-published business case from the Crown entity says its “preferred option” is for a further $422.6 million over four years from 2023, including $285.8m to integrate IT systems, $60m for ‘transformation programme management’ and $26.8m for ‘people change costs’.

The document also outlines an option where 487 full-time equivalent (FTE) staff will be made redundant by 2026, with 104 losing their jobs by the end of next year.

So the mega merger of polytechs was because they had a projected deficit of $50 million and this merger was meant to save money. But it turns out the merged entity needs $500 million from the long suffering taxpayers.