Holden’s announcement today to reduce production to a single shift has emphasised the need for an immediate short-term plan to guide Australia’s automotive industry through the current downturn.
“Our main concern is that we take steps to minimise job losses in this vital Australian industry. Currently we are seeing unprecedented conditions of reduced demand and we must adjust to those conditions,” said AMWU National Secretary Dave Oliver.
“The AMWU is working with employers and the government to consider initiatives to maintain capacity, retain staff and help the industry through the current economic climate,” said Mr Oliver.
“This decision of Holden’s should provide some security for the auto components sector, which has been hit hard by the extent of down days and uncertainty seen recently.
“Australia’s automotive industry has a strong base, and we are confident, if handled correctly, we will come out of this period with capacity to grow further in the future.
“It is important that we maintain capacity particularly in the component sector. We need the Federal and State governments to initiate programs to assist companies to retain staff through paid training programs.
“Australia is unique because we have a plan for the next ten years for the automotive sector, which is more than most other countries, however, we are still doing it tough and we need to bring forward initiatives that will help us through these difficult times.
“With the strong investment and commitment to research and development, innovation and green technologies that is already in the pipeline, the car industry has great capacity to recover from this downturn.
“Furthermore, there are a range of purchasing decisions that can be made now, such as commitments to use Australian cars in any government or business fleet tenders.
“We are confident that by bringing forward some of the initiatives that have been planned, we can protect the industry from further job losses and pain, while providing for future growth at the same time,” said Mr Oliver.