Australian Car Industries Uncertain Future - Car Parts Firm Closes, 300 Lose Jobs

[JoeT]

Go To The Most Recent Post For All The Latest News

Die-Off Will Strike Small Parts Players First

Ian Porter 26/07/05
www.drive.com.au

The Australian car parts industry is not about to collapse all at once under the lower tariffs now in force, but there could be more failures among small companies, according to market leader Toyota.

But the Japanese giant is concerned about its own medium-term future, calling for the Government to reopen the car industry plan amid mounting fears that the industry will be unable to cope when tariffs fall to 5 per cent in 2010.

"The components industry is not dead, or dying," said Toyota Australia executive chairman John Conomos, referring to recent failures and withdrawals by companies such as Ion, Trico and Autoliv.

"There are obviously those who are feeling the stress, probably in the second and third tier of companies.

"But in the first tier, I don't think in the next five years there is any danger of those people packing up and going."

Mr Conomos said Federal Industry Minister Ian Macfarlane planned to convene a meeting with industry leaders to discuss the issue next month.

Mr Conomos said the industry had experienced failures among suppliers from time to time, such as this week's strike at the troubled Icon company, which halted Ford's production line and pushed Toyota close to a stoppage.

"I don't think there is going to be a epidemic. I don't think there is going to be a massive withdrawal," he said. "It is a very difficult business, with low tariffs in a market of less than 1 per cent of the world market."

Mr Conomos said Toyota Australia wanted to use as much local componentry as possible and was working to encourage local and international suppliers to invest in Australia.

Toyota had recently transferred its in-house seat-making operations to Japanese company Aaraco, which has established a new plant in Laverton.

Mr Conomos did sound a warning, however, about the next scheduled drop in tariffs to 5 per cent in 2010.

"Quite frankly, it is very difficult to produce cars below a 10 per cent tariff, in our view. But, as you know, the Government is committed to a 5 per cent tariff and, with the FTAs (free trade agreements), to zero."

The next cut in tariffs, which the Productivity Commission has already admitted may have negative effects for the Australian economy, will have greater than usual impact, as it will coincide with the end of the $2 billion, five-year Automotive Competitiveness and Investment Scheme.

The scheme rewards car makers and parts suppliers for investment and production by granting exemptions from import duty on materials and components.

Toyota Australia has a history of poor earnings in Australia, even though the vast bulk of its sales are imported.

The company recently reported a record profit of $76.6 million for the year to March 31, representing a return of about 1 per cent on revenue of $7.3 billion.

The parent company posted a profit of $16.5 billion, a return of 6.3 per cent on sales.

Related Thread: Car Makers Ask For Higher Tariffs To Save Local Industry - Labor Backs Tariff Cuts

[JoeT]

'More Car Jobs To Go' Union Fear

AAP 04/08/05
www.drive.com.au

Workers at a major glass maker have called on Holden to reconsider its decision to import windscreens from Thailand, which will cost up to 120 Australian jobs.

Union officials say the jobs at Pilkington Glass are under threat from General Motors Holden's decision.

If those jobs were lost, it would follow 660 jobs that were slashed at the start of winter.

Construction, Forestry, Mining and Energy Union (CFMEU) spokesman Leo Skourdoumbis said Pilkington workers were calling on Holden to rethink its decision to send jobs offshore.

"Some of these workers and their families are already struggling to keep their heads above water," he said.

Mr Skourdoumbis said Pilkington had already announced the closure of its glazing plant at Pooraka in South Australia in the wake of Holden's decision, and had told the union it needed to shed 58 per cent of its national automotive glass workforce because of the reduced business.

The union has since attempted to convince Pilkington not to carry out the redundancies.

It has now taken its case to Holden, asking the giant carmaker to support local industry and jobs.

Mr Skourdoumbis said the contract to import glass from Thailand made a mockery of Holden's claims to be a proud Australian company.

Workers from both day and afternoon shifts at Pilkington's Geelong and Laverton plants stopped work for three hours to attend a rally outside Holden's Port Melbourne site.

Pilkington spokesman Russell Howard said no final decision had been made about how many of the company's 280 jobs in the automotive sector would need to be cut.

Pilkington had secure work through Toyota and Mitsubishi and was seeking more contracts as its present arrangement with Holden expired in the middle of next year, Mr Howard said.

"It's too early to quantify," he said.

"Worst case scenario it's looking to be over a hundred jobs."

Holden spokesman Jason Laird said manufacturers in Thailand were better able to provide the quality and technology Holden was looking for.

"We had very lengthy discussions with Pilkington about that ... at the end of the day they chose not to make that investment," Mr Laird said.

"We gave them ample opportunity."

Union leaders slammed Holden's justification of its decision.

CFMEU national secretary John Maitland said the automotive glass made by Pilkington was as good as any in the world.

ACTU secretary Greg Combet blamed the decision to source windscreens from Thailand on the free trade agreement signed in 2003.

He said Pilkington was a classic example of how free trade agreements undercut Australian businesses, forcing down wages, conditions and job security.

The planned job losses at Pilkington follow the announcements in June by two major car part manufacturers to slash 660 jobs in Melbourne.

Windshield wiper maker Trico announced it would axe 160 jobs as it shifts its operations into China.

Autoliv said it would shed another 500 jobs over 18 months, transferring most of the work to South Korea.

[JoeT]

Australian Automotive Manufacturing Industry Reeling As Icon Feels The Affects

Neil McDonald 08/08/05
www.goauto.com.au

Australia's automotive manufacturing industry is still reeling from the effects of the decision to put Melbourne components maker Icon Automotive into voluntary administration.

Striking Icon workers in late July forced the closure of Ford and Toyota’s Victorian plants and the stand-down of more than 3000 workers as production ground to a halt, costing the companies tens of millions of dollars in lost sales.

Icon workers walked off the job over concerns about their entitlements after the company went into administration.

The company produces a variety of plastic automotive components such as air-intake assemblies, battery boxes and brake fluid bottles.

An eleventh-hour hearing of the Industrial Relations Commission resolved the dispute.

Ford and Toyota both rely on Icon as a vital tier-one components supplier, while Holden, which uses Icon as a tier-two supplier, was better insulated from the downtime.

The three-day closure of Ford’s Broadmeadows plant cost millions as 1600 workers were stood down, effectively losing production of 500 vehicles a day.

Ford’s Geelong facility was also closed for one day, affecting about 500 workers.

Toyota spokesman Peter Griffin said the Australian car industry could not afford the damaging fallout on its international reputation from another local supplier going into administration.

Icon is the second car supplier to go into administration in less than 12 months.

Late last year engine-block manufacturer Ion suffered the same fate, forcing Holden to seek alternative sources for its engine blocks.

This latest dispute has not just affected car manufacturers, according to Ford spokesperson Sinead McAlary.

Ms McAlary said 2200 workers at other component suppliers outside Ford were also hit by the stoppages.

Toyota’s Altona plant builds 480 Camrys a day, with 60 per cent of them destined for export markets, primarily to the Middle East.

Mr Griffin said some of the parts supplied to Toyota were unique to the Australian-built Camry and could not be flown in from other Toyota factories where the car is made.

Until now, Ford has not experienced problems from Icon as a supplier.

"We’ve sourced from them for some time and have no plans to change," Ms McAlary said.

"We’re quite keen to keep them as a supplier if the business can be proven to be viable."

Ms McAlary said the three days’ lost production was diffi cult to recover.

"We’d have to do that on overtime rates so there’s added cost there just for the workers," she said.

Although falling short of suggesting the automotive component sector in Victoria was facing meltdown, one senior executive said the car industry faced new challenges both in Australia and from low-cost countries abroad.

In recent months the component sector has been feeling the pinch from cheap imported parts and low-cost offshore labour, which has forced the shedding of jobs at Autoliv Australia and windscreen-wiper manufacturer Trico.

Braking systems manufacturer Pacifica also announced it was to relocate some manufacturing to China and Thailand.

Ms McAlary said Ford fully supported Australian-based suppliers "wherever we can".

Icon administrators PPB has blamed prohibitive labour costs, inherent production diffi culties and labour-related issues for the company’s problems.

It did not rule out the possibility that some jobs would be axed to maintain its viability and that it would seek a buyer for the company.

PPB said last week it intended to implement a broad program of cost rationalisation under a deed of company arrangement.

Earlier this year, an Australian Industry Group report warned that the growth of cheap carparts manufacturers in China was threatening Victoria’s automotive sector.

The list of Australian companies hit by the emerging Chinese automotive juggernaut is growing.

Trico, Pilkington Glass, Autoliv and Pacifica Group Ltd have all suffered because of changes in the global supplier chain.

In June, Autoliv and Trico announced they were sacking staff in Victoria and moving some production aspects to China.

Windshield wiper maker Trico, based in Springvale, plans to cut 160 jobs and Autoliv said it would axe 200 jobs at its Broadmeadows factory.

Another 65 jobs at a subsidiary of Autoliv, seatbelt textile maker VOA Webco, were threatened as the company expected it would be forced to close its Thomastown plant.

Pilkington has lost a valuable Holden contract for the supply of glass for the VE Commodore.

Like Ford, Holden will now source glass from Asia.

In May, Melbourne-based brakes and clutch maker Pacifica Group said it was facing a difficult business environment and expected lower profits as car production volumes fell in North America, the price of steel rose and exchange rates continued to be unfavourable.

In December 2004, cash-strapped car parts maker Ion Ltd, also based in Melbourne, had administrators appointed after bankers withdrew support.

Ion, which employed 3000 people in Australia, New Zealand and the United States, suffered crippling cost overruns and delays on three major capital projects.

[Martino_z]

That is shamefull by holden. many people may already know my convictions about asians taking our jobs, but for such a brand to simply say ok well your glass isnt as sophisticated as their glass (or whatever load of crap reason they gave) is not good enough. Australian industry workers are suffering as it is. Holden has to rethink their ideals.

[JoeT]

Pilkington Had A Chance To Supply VE Commodore's Windscreens: Holden

Neil McDonald 15/08/05
www.goauto.com.au

Workers from Pilkington Glass rallied outside Holden’s new headquarters in Port Melbourne a little over a week ago in protest over its decision to import windscreens from Thailand, with about 100 workers picketing the new Holden HQ on August 3.

The workers, supported by the union movement, have blamed the loss of the contract on burgeoning free-trade agreements, particularly with Thailand.

GM Holden spokesman Jason Laird said Holden had several months of talks with Pilkington more than 12 months ago to sort out the glass supply situation for the new VE Commodore.

"Given that it’s a new-generation vehicle we wanted to stay at the forefront of the local car industry and obviously be competitive with the imported vehicles, so we required a better-quality glass," he said.

"This required a different technology process, which required some investment on their (Pilkington’s) part and they indicated to us that they had chosen not to make that investment.

"We continued to have discussions with them and ultimately they chose not to make that investment."

Mr Laird said that given that there were no other Australian suppliers with the capability to supply the high-tech glass, Holden was forced to look overseas.

He also said it was not just a decision based on cost alone.

"It was a decision based on quality, technology, price and reliability of service, which is a fairly standard assessment method for any purchasing decision," he said.

Although Holden will not comment, GoAuto understands it will buy its glass from Thailand.

Pilkington had been supplying Holden with glass for more than 70 years.

"They were a long-term supplier and that’s partly why we had lengthy discussions with them," Mr Laird said.

Unions have blamed the free-trade agreement with Thailand for the loss of the contract, which makes it cheaper for Holden to import the glass for the VE Commodore, which is due for release next year.

At its peak, Pilkington is understood to have supplied more than 80,000 windscreens annually for the Commodore.

Thailand’s burgeoning auto component industry is expected to be a major beneficiary of the FTA, a situation that has alarmed both the Australian component industry and unions.

Pilkington also has contracts to supply other Australian auto manufacturers Toyota, Mitsubishi and Ford.

Toyota Australia spokesman Peter Griffin said about 70 per cent of components for the Camry were supplied locally "and our position is to try and keep it that way".

One industry analyst, who did not wish to be named, said it was curious that the Australian Manufacturing Workers’ Union and the ACTU had taken so long to take up the cause of the beleaguered Pilkington workers.

"It was known long ago that this was happening," he said, suggesting that the current sweeping workplace industrial relations reforms proposed by the Federal Government had prompted some supportive action for the component supply industry.

ACTU secretary Greg Combet told the rally that Holden’s intentions were directly linked to Australia’s free-trade agreement with Thailand and that "now we’re looking at another 120 job losses here".

[JoeT]

Infomedia The Latest Victim Of GM's Late Supply

The Age 25/08/05
www.drive.com.au

The world's biggest car maker, General Motors, is causing more grief for the Australian supplier industry, this time by telling Infomedia it will be able to supply its electronic parts catalogues to US dealers for only another three years.

Infomedia's shares immediately plunged 5¢, or 8.6 per cent, to 53¢, as GM's American dealers represent 13 per cent of Infomedia's electronic parts catalogue (EPC) business.

Other companies that have borne the brunt of recent GM sourcing decisions include brakes supplier Pacifica, radiator supplier Calsonic and windscreen maker Pilkington.

Dealers using Infomedia's Microcat system use a computer to read a CD or DVD or log into a computer-based parts catalogue, giving them access to the latest parts and prices. Infomedia has sold its Microcat system in 166 countries in 25 languages and services Ford and Holden dealers in Australia.

What is galling for Infomedia is that the latest version of Microcat for GM dealers was developed in accordance with specifications laid down by GM's service and parts operations over the past year.

In addition, GM has indicated that it intends to introduce its own EPC system starting in September 2006. Infomedia's GM dealer customers all recently defected from an earlier GM system devised by former subsidiary EDS, or from its rival Proquest, formerly Bell & Howell.

"For the General Motors dealers who are using Microcat today, it is their EPC of choice," Infomedia secretary Nick Georges said in a release.

Under the original contract with GM, Infomedia will have access to new data during the next three years, but will be able to deal only with current customers. Infomedia secretary Nick Georges said yesterday Infomedia would continue to work closely with GM to ensure dealers received the highest level of customer support.

However, it was not yet clear how GM dealers, or the strong US dealer associations, would react to the news of a potential monopoly on supply of EPCs from GM.

[JoeT]

Jobs Cuts Hit 200 At Ion

AAP 30/08/05
www.news.com.au

Administrators for troubled automotive component maker Ion say 200 jobs will be cut from the company's Adelaide foundry at North Plympton.

The job cuts follow the scrapping of 400 jobs last month, when Ion's Wingfield plant, in Adelaide's north, was closed.
The latest losses have been blamed on car maker Holden's decision to source its components elsewhere.

Production of Holden parts is to be phased out of the North Plympton plant over the next six to eight months, resulting in the loss of 144 permanent and 65 casual positions over the same timeframe.

In a statement, Ion administrator McGrath Nicol said Holden had indicated a strong desire to stay with Ion but Ion was unable to produce Holden parts at an internationally competitive price.

Australian Workers Union (AWU) branch secretary Wayne Hanson said workers were told about the job cuts by McGrath Nicol today. "With friends like Holden, who needs enemies?" Mr Hanson said.

"(Holden's) withdrawal of support from a reliable component supplier of many decades, in conjunction with an Ion leadership group which shows all the hallmarks of industrial vandals, has precipitated the scrapping of a further 200 South Australian jobs."
The job losses are the latest blow to SA's manufacturing industry and particularly the automotive sector.

Last week, Holden announced it would cut 1400 jobs at its Adelaide operations in a bid to protect its long-term future in Australia.

Mitsubishi last year cut 1000 jobs from its Adelaide operations, including 650 at its engine manufacturing facility, which will close in October this year.

Mr Hanson said he had held talks with SA Premier Mike Rann and requested similar funding assistance for Ion workers to that given to retrenched Holden and Mitsubishi employees.

The federal and state governments have announced a $10 million package to assist displaced Holden workers find alternative work.

Ion was placed in voluntary administration last December after a consortium of five banks withdrew a $400 million credit facility.

[JoeT]

Supplier Blames Holden For Sackings

Verity Edwards 31/08/05
www.news.com.au

Troubled car parts manufacturer Ion yesterday blamed Holden's decision to source components from cheaper suppliers offshore as the reason behind its sacking of 200 workers at its Adelaide operation.

Ion's North Plympton plant has been supplying cam shafts, thermostats and oil pans to Australia's biggest car maker for the past 30 years.
It is the first component company to announce job cuts since Holden's decision last week to cancel its third shift and shed more than 1400 workers from January.

Company administrator Peter Anderson said Holden had wanted to stay with Ion, but the supplier was unable to produce the parts at an internationally competitive price.

The decision to cut the workforce by 200 employees follows the loss of a further 400 workers, who were retrenched after the company sold its Wingfield operations in December. They completed their final shift on July 29.

"We've gone from being on death's door in December, January and February ... we're actually much better placed to have a future for the remaining workers," Mr Anderson said.

Shift workers were told of the decision when they arrived at the North Plympton plant at 6am yesterday. The cuts will include 144 full-time and 56 casual positions.
The Rann Government will include Ion workers in a $10million job scheme to assist Holden workers to find replacement positions.

Mr Anderson said Ion would phase out production of the parts over six to eight months. It would continue to make alloy wheels and hubs for motorcycle giant Harley Davidson.

Australian Workers Union state secretary Wayne Hanson blamed the cuts on Holden withdrawing support and sourcing components offshore.

"With friends like Holden, who needs enemies?" Mr Hanson said. "If Holden had the opportunity, they would expect Australian workers to work for $4 a day and a pie with sauce."

Holden spokesman David Ellis said months of discussions had led to the decision.

The union said the layoffs at Holden and Ion raised questions about the future of the automotive manufacturing industry in South Australia, with close to 3000 jobs being cut - including 1000 jobs at Mitsubishi - since last year.

[JoeT]

Rescue Deal Saves Ion Transmission Plant & R&D Centre

Neil McDonald 31/08/05
www.goauto.com.au

A Consortium of Japanese and Australian business interests will spend $48 million to buyout the struggling car-parts maker Ion Group Limited.

The international consortium will acquire Ion’s former transmission plant in Albury, NSW, and the company’s research and development centre in Springvale, Melbourne.

The deal, which is unrelated to the aborted engine block project in Altona that forced Holden to source components overseas, should be finalised in about six weeks.

The Albury plant employs about 750 employees and produces four-speed automatic transmissions for Ford Australia and SsangYong in South Korea.

The chairman of the consortium, Graham Halbish, said Powertrain Products International Pty Ltd (PPI) had signed a contract to acquire the manufacturing plant and the R&D centre.

“Current production is around 134,000 units a year and PPI plans to maintain this volume until the introduction of a new six-speed transmission in September 2006 when production is scheduled to increase to support contracts for the new transmission and expanded markets in Asia for the four-speed,” said Mr Halbish.

“We see ongoing research and development as the key to the introduction of new PPI products, and the opportunity for the company to provide considerable flexibility in those future products.”

Administrators were appointed to the Melbourne-based Ion Group in December 2004 after bankers withdrew support for the company.

Ion had suffered crippling cost overruns and manufacturing delays and, when it went into administration, owed bankers $350 million and trade creditors $120 million. It had 3000 employees in Australia, New Zealand and the United States.

The consortium represents interests from Australia and Japan. PPI is predominately Australian-owned and comprises Japsco Ltd (Japan Asia-Pacific Project Support Co Ltd), Motor Trade Finances Australia Pty Ltd and other Melbourne-based investors.

The acquisition of the Albury plant is also supported by the global trading house Marubeni Corp of Japan.

The sale was announced by the administrator of IAS, Colin Nicol of administrators McGrathNicol and Partners. Ion operations will continue to be managed by general manager Mike Turner and his executive team.

PPI has maintained contact with the NSW Government and the Australian Manufacturing Workers Union throughout negotiations leading up to the acquisition. Both support the acquisition.

[JoeT]

Car Companies Urged To "Hang Tough"

AAP 01/09/05
www.smh.com.au

The federal government has urged car producers to "hang tough" and support local parts suppliers to ensure the long-term future of the component industry.

Federal Industry Minister Ian Macfarlane said car makers should take a long-term view when it came to deciding on where to source parts for locally-made cars.

"I expect all auto manufacturers to hang tough in the times ahead," he said.

"There will be ups and downs, there will corporate collapses ... but there will also be some tough choices between using Australian componentry or overseas componentry and we expect manufacturers to take the long-term view on that."

The minister's comments follow a spate of redundancies in the component sector including the loss of 600 jobs after the collapse of cylinder head producer Ion Automotive.

They also follow last week's announcement from Holden that it would axe 1,400 jobs at its Elizabeth assembly operation in Adelaide's north in the face of rising costs and a forecast dip in export demand and local sales.

Holden's move sparked further fears of more jobs losses in the component sector.

Mr Macfarlane said the federal government remained confident of the long-term success of Australia's car industry.

But he said recent job losses in the component sector were alarming.

Later this year he will lead a delegation to Japan to meet with Toyota and Mitsubishi officials and will repeat that process in the new year with a visit to General Motors and Ford in Detroit.

He will ask the car giants to ensure Australian component suppliers are given a fair go to compete for contracts, both for vehicles made in Australia and for international business.

"We're not asking them to support inefficient or expensive companies but we are asking them to give them a good go," he said.

The minister said he had expressed his disappointment in regard to the sourcing of some components to the local car makers several weeks ago.

While he did not want to single out Holden for criticism he said the next VE Commodore, due for release next year, would have only 55 per cent local content, down on previous models.

Mr Macfarlane said it was a trend the industry needed to reverse.

"That means we all have to be involved together, there has to be an understanding of what the auto manufacturers expect, at what price," he said.

"There also has to be a realisation that it is a cyclical event and while prices, relative to other countries, aren't always exactly the same, in the long term I believe Australia can produce as competitively as anyone."

[JoeT]

Car Industry On The Edge Of Survival

Josh Gordon 22/09/05
www.drive.com.au

Industry Minister Ian Macfarlane has warned that Australia's car industry has reached a "low-water mark" below which it cannot survive.

Mr Macfarlane will this week travel to Tokyo with a delegation of component makers to press the case for greater Australian involvement in global auto manufacturing supply chains in a bid to lift the ailing industry.

He said taxpayers had contributed $7.2 billion worth of subsidies over the past 15 years to the four big producers and it was time that they made a bigger commitment to use components supplied by local manufacturers.

"It is very hard times and as a government we have got to call in some favours," Mr Macfarlane told The Age.

"I'm not guaranteeing success, but I'm going to have a dmn good go."

Mr Macfarlane said Ford, Holden, Mitsubishi and Toyota had to accept an obligation to use Australian-made components and provide technical help to local producers in return for the billions of dollars worth of help they had received.

The comments follow a terrible six months for the industry, which is being pounded by increasingly fierce competition from low cost producers in China, Mexico and Eastern Europe and Australia's relatively strong dollar.

The automotive sector has lost more than 3300 jobs over the past year, with cuts at Holden, Mitsubishi, Ion, TI Automotive and Coopers-Standard Automotive Australia.

Some new models are now using just 56 per cent local content.

Mr Macfarlane said the common view was that "if you get below 50 per cent local content it's easier to bring the car in fully assembled".

"This is the low-water mark for the Australian car industry. I mean Victoria is half the car industry in Australia and we can't afford to see the car industry not improve. It's not going to be easy, it's going to be very hard."

Meanwhile, the Federal Government yesterday announced a new $108 million round of grants aimed at boosting R&D among the four big makers.

Under the scheme successful bidders are given 45¢ for each dollar spent on R&D.

Mr Macfarlane said the Government had believed the industry was we set up for the future two years ago with the release of the new 10-year car plan.

"We thought that it was pretty well set. But the new issue is China, and we can't afford to lose contracts in local cars to overseas components and that's what the emphasis is at the moment, the turn that around. It's quite a task."

Despite the hard times facing the local industry and soaring fuel prices, car sales are booming.

Figures from the Bureau of Statistics showed new car sales jumped 1.4 per cent in August, the strongest gain in four months.

Commsec chief equities economist Craig James said sales of large, off-road vehicles were going down as motorists turned to more efficient vehicles.

"What new buyers are doing is shifting from larger vehicles to smaller vehicles," Mr James said.

Federal Chamber of Automotive Industries chief executive Peter Sturrock said there were big issues facing the industry around the world, but Australia was determined to stay competitive.

[DanCBJMS1988]

Now you guys know the apathy that most Americans have over outsourcing!!!

[JoeT]

Car Parts Maker Ion To Shed 200 Jobs

AAP 07/10/05
www.smh.com.au

Embattled car parts producer Ion will shed another 200 jobs, with the cuts blamed on losing a Ford contract and rising petrol prices.

Company administrator Colin Nicol said the job losses at Ion's Albury engine transmission plant would reduce the workforce there to 540.

The latest redundancies follow an earlier 200 jobs being slashed at the company's foundry at Plumpton, Adelaide, and a further 400 at the company's Wingfield manufacturing facility.

The administrator hoped to finalise the Albury job losses within the next fortnight and was hopeful most workers would take voluntary redundancy packages.

"We are expecting a high take-up by volunteers," Mr Nicol said.

The administrator was also planning to sell the Albury Ion operations and a research and development facility at Clayton, Victoria.

Negotiations were expected to be finalised next week and the new owner would take over on November 1.

The Plympton operations would also be put on the market later this month.

The sale of that facility, which produces alloy wheels and other parts, was recently delayed so environmental issues could be addressed.

[JoeT]

Auto Parts Firm Silcraft To Sack 460 Workers

News Ltd 07/11/05
www.news.com.au

Automotive component producer Silcraft has confirmed that it will today axe 460 jobs at its Melbourne plant.

The Australian Manufacturing Workers Union (AMWU) said the announcement was a cruel act by Silcraft, coming less than two months before Christmas.
The company manufactures automotive trim, hinges and bracketry, at Mount Waverley in Melbourne's east.

The union's national secretary Doug Cameron said the company would inform its workforce at lunchtime today of the redundancies.

"This is a kick in the guts for 460 honest, hard-working employees," Mr Cameron said.

"It is time the federal government did something to arrest the disastrous decline in our automotive sector," he said.

Mr Cameron said the move followed the loss of hundreds of jobs at automotive suppliers Trico, Ion and Autoliv.
In June this year, windshield wiper maker Trico, in Springvale, announced it would axe 160 jobs as the company shifted its operations to China.

Seatbelt and airbag manufacturer, Autoliv, said it would shed 500 jobs over 18 months at its Broadmeadows plant.

Last month, car parts producer Ion cut 200 jobs at its Albury engine transmission plant, on the Victoria-NSW border.

"Over the last three years we've seen 14,000 jobs go in the auto sector, and John Howard and his government have sat on their hands."

He said the reason for the redundancies was the loss of contracts following a decision by carmakers Holden, Ford and Toyota to source parts from overseas.

A spokesman for Silcraft confirmed the redundancies.

"The 460 workers will be made redundant and our EBA (Enterprise Bargaining Agreement) will be honoured," a Silcraft spokesman said.

[JoeT]

Auto Industry Future Rests On Innovation

AAP
20 April 2006
www.smh.com.au

The future of Australia's automotive industry rests on research, innovation, design and niche manufacturing, federal Labor's industry spokesman Stephen Smith says.

Mr Smith visited the Adelaide plants of carmakers Holden and Mitsubishi and said all the country's carmakers had to focus on Australia's sustainable competitive advantage.

"That meant a greater focus on our innovative excellence, increasing investment in research and development, and enhancing the education and skills of our workforce," he said.

Mr Smith said Labor believed it was in Australia's interest to have a strong and vibrant manufacturing sector.

"It is in our public and national interest to have a vibrant manufacturing industry, and within this, a viable automotive industry," he said.

"This is important for the skills and expertise it generates and the spin-offs the innovation provides to other sectors of the economy as well."

Mr Smith said Labor supported a strategic approach that assisted the automotive industry to respond to the significant challenges it faced.

Federal Labor's industry spokesman Stephen Smith