Air New Zealand (NZ, Auckland International) is set to cut 180 heavy maintenance jobs at its MRO wing, Air New Zealand Engineering Services (ANZES), as the airline's fleet renewal scheme has resulted in less demand for heavy maintenance work. The Engineering, Printing and Manufacturing Union also says the high value of the New Zealand Dollar has hurt the subsidiary's competitiveness in spite of productivity gains made over the past few years. As a means of buffering its affected staff, the union has now asked the airline to keep a NZD100million (USD78.55million) contract to refurbish its older B777-200(ER)s in the country to give the workers 12 months' breathing space; a contract the airline had intended to outsource. With the first of its ten B787-9s due next year, the airline plans to phase out its fleet of ageing six B767-300s and two B747-400s which have provided the bulk of ANZES' MRO work in the past.