Things are looking up for many of Silver Fern Farm’s Te Aroha plant workers, as more than half head into the Christmas break with a job to return to.

350 staff faced an uncertain future after the plant went up in flames last weekend, and they were given no guarantee of pay past Christmas.

Silver Fern moved to find jobs elsewhere for workers willing to relocate, and chief executive Keith Cooper says many took up the offer of work at the company’s Hastings plant.

Keith Cooper says others have picked up work at the company’s Dargaville and Hawera plants, but some are still without a job.

A former Te Aroha employee, Laurie MacKay, says as an experienced and skilled worker, he is one of the lucky ones able to relocate to Hastings.

“The company offered us the opportunity to go to Pacific, which is in Hastings, and offered us a pretty good deal.

I think there’s around about 160 of us down here in Pacific that were in Te Aroha.”

Laurie MacKay says as far as he knows, only a few Te Aroha employees are yet to find work.

“Not many at all, I would say. There might be 20 at the most that perhaps didn’t get a job somewhere.”