Car dealerships in Dunedin and across Otago have had to lay off staff.
Southern Motor Group, Cooke Howlison and Carbase have all gone through some sort of resizing due to the economic impact of Covid-19.
Southern Motor Group managing director Ken Cummings said his organisation had laid off about 10 staff at its Dunedin sites.
"We’ve had a restructure and it wasn’t massive.
"But we’ve had a restructure like most other people and everyone is now settled back into work and it’s ... when I say ‘business as usual’, we’re making the best of what’s happening at the moment."
Having to let staff go was not easy, he said, describing it as something "we don’t ever want to go through ... again".
"This is ... not something we enjoy but it’s something we had to do ... and we’re now moving on."
According to Ministry of Social Development figures the Southern Motor Group employed about 53 staff and Mr Cummings said those laid off were a mix of full-time and part-time employees.
Cooke Howlison managing director John Marsh said his organisation had laid off three staff "at this stage".
The company employs about 155 staff at dealerships across Otago.
April was a "terrible month for everyone," he said, but they recovered in May and June was tracking to be a good month.
There were dark clouds on the horizon though, Mr Marsh said, and "things are going to get a bit harder.
"We just need to keep working hard to keep as many people employed as possible but that’s where we’re at at the moment."
Staff were flexible and there had been some "re-jigging of roles" to ensure more people kept their jobs.
He said staff were all back at 100% of wages and were appreciative of the way the company had managed the lockdown.
"There’s quite a good feeling around the company at the moment."
At Carbase, managing director Neil Videler said his company had let go of "a minimal amount" of its staff.
He would not say the exact number, but according to MSD figures the company had 35 staff when the company claimed the wage subsidy and Mr Videler said that number was now 32.
"I wouldn’t call it a restructure, that would be too strong," he said.
"We haven’t closed any branches or anything like that. I’d prefer to call it a bit of reorganisation, but it’s well short of a restructure."
He said the Kia brand the company was centred on was growing well and that was positive for the future.
