UPDATED: 6.52PM Fisher & Paykel is to close its Auckland refrigeration factory with the loss of almost 200 jobs.

Staff were briefed this afternoon before production was suspended for the day so that staff could be with their families.

The factory currently operates four days a week and employs 186 staff.

The company said it's consulting with staff, but is considering a two stage approach, with partial closures in July and November before the final decommissioning.

Managing Director Stuart Broadhurst said loyal and hardworking staff have managed to stave off the inevitable for some years, but the harsh reality is the factory is no longer competitive in today's global whiteware marketplace.

Mr Broadhurst told Larry Williams the company's is committed to staying in New Zelaand and has employed more than 270 people in New Zealand in the past year.

"We are growing substantially around the world -- 15 per cent a year, at the moment -- and all of that product is developed and supported from our New Zealand base".

LISTEN ABOVE: Fisher and Paykel CEO Stuart Broadhurst talks to Larry Williams

E tū national secretary Bill Newson said the job losses has a huge impact on the staff's families and communities.

“It’s a huge loss to the 180 people who have lost their jobs, to our manufacturing industry, and to our country as a whole.

Newson told Larry Williams the jobs going are high value and good for working people.

"While there are jobs being created in the economy they tend to be lower paid, minimum wage jobs, casual, part time. There's not very good prospects for the people losing those jobs.

“They may have to move out of their communities or work two or three jobs just to make ends meet. That’s the cost of losing local manufacturing".

Mr Newson said E tū has been working with Fisher & Paykel for eight years "but it seems no matter what we do, we cannot save these jobs".

“Our manufacturing sector has been hung out to dry by a government which has consistently failed to support broader R&D and innovation, has not acted on the lack of incentives for manufacturers to invest in high-value secure jobs, nor on creating a skilled, high-wage economy based on building things here instead of shipping raw product overseas".

Employers and Manufacturers Association chief executive Kim Campbell said the situation was sad for the workers affected, but not a surprise.

"In the case of appliance manufacturing the writing was on the wall when [Fisher & Paykel] sold to the Chinese 12 years ago. There's been a valiant rearguard action ever since."

The company was known to be innovative, and he expected a development site would continue in New Zealand. But the biggest cost of appliance manufacturing was material, freight and logistics, and that meant manufacturing close to where the appliances would be sold was favoured.

There were few large manufacturers left in New Zealand, and the future was in "weightless" products, such as software and games, which were not affected by the country's distance from major markets, Mr Campbell said.

The planned closure of the East Tamaki factory would not affect consumers, he said.

"We import almost all of our consumer goods ... including whiteware. It's very cheap, and you don't hear consumers complaining."

The phased closing of the operation will be completed by the end of 2016. E tū members will be entitled to redundancy compensation as part of their collective agreement.