Car industry closure puts thousands of jobs at risk
THE AUSTRALIAN12:00AM FEBRUARY 16, 2016
John Ferguson
Victorian Editor
Melbourne
https://plus.google.com/106210093180875476946
Tens of thousands of jobs are said to be at risk with the imminent closure of the car manufacturing industry.
The manufacturing states are silently bleeding thousands of car industry jobs, sparking demands for the Turnbull government to provide urgent pre-election aid to supply chain companies.
New figures obtained by The Australian show the impact of the looming end of local carmaking, with tens of thousands of jobs at risk as nearly half the Victorian supply chain businesses disappear.
While 71 of the 136 Victorian car industry suppliers are diversifying or have diversified, scores of others have quit or are quitting production, exposing the national economy to a potential shock late this year or in 2017.
Car industry ministers from Victoria and South Australia have demanded the Turnbull government overhaul the $2.8 billion Automotive Transformation Scheme, arguing hundreds of millions of dollars of unspent funds are needed to help industry move into other markets.
Federal Industry Minister Christopher Pyne believes that the employment landscape will be robust enough to deal with the crisis in both states.
But Victorian Industry Minister Lily D’Ambrosio told The Australian that the commonwealth needed to make markedly more funds available to enable supply chain companies to create opportunities. “We are doing all we can as a state government ... it is an especially acute situation,’’ she said. Her government has analysed the future of the Victorian supply chain, with 65 suppliers — employing thousands of people — facing a dark future when Ford closes in October.
The Holden engine plant is due to close in the same month, its South Australian assembly plant the following year and Toyota at the end of next year. South Australian Automotive Transformation Minister Kyam Maher said unspent ATS funds of just under $800 million should be used for the supply chain but also other businesses pursuing more modern markets.
“We reckon the ATS should be opened up to help companies diversify,’’ Mr Maher said.
The Productivity Commission has warned that up to 40,000 jobs are at risk as a result of the closure of motor vehicle manufacturing plants but also found that industry assistance had failed the sector.
There was more benefit pursuing other industries, it found, and called for the closure of the ATS after Ford, Holden and Toyota end local production.
A spokeswoman for Mr Pyne said: “South Australia and Victoria are well placed to weather the impact of these closures, with significant growth expected in sectors like advanced manufacturing, food and agriculture, medical technologies and pharmaceuticals, mining services, tourism and education.
“The government’s policies and approach is working, with projected economic growth for both SA and Victoria at around 2 per cent per annum over the next few years, an estimated 40,200 new jobs to be created in SA and an estimated 158,000 new jobs expected to be created in Victoria.’’
However, unions are already reporting significant hardship in Melbourne and Geelong, where the bulk of the nation’s car sector jobs are located.
Federation of Automotive Products Manufacturers manager Tom Chappell said the closure of the local car industry had left behind a highly complex landscape for regulators.
Mr Chappell said that some multinationals would leave, some would stay, but that there would be between 28,000 and 40,000 jobs lost, depending on how far down the supply chain was analysed.
“Some multinationals may well just leave,” he said.
Australian Manufacturing Workers Union national secretary (vehicle division) Dave Smith said the staggered loss of jobs was already having a serious effect.
“Honestly, I wouldn’t like to be in the northern suburbs of Adelaide,’’ he said. He said the social impact of job losses was felt acutely in the worst-affected areas.
http://www.theaustralian.com.au/national-affairs/state-politics/car-industry-closure-puts-thousands-of-jobs-at-risk/news-story/7acae08c5b8e7630c15bd2dff3b6def6
THE AUSTRALIAN12:00AM FEBRUARY 16, 2016
John Ferguson
Victorian Editor
Melbourne
https://plus.google.com/106210093180875476946
Tens of thousands of jobs are said to be at risk with the imminent closure of the car manufacturing industry.
The manufacturing states are silently bleeding thousands of car industry jobs, sparking demands for the Turnbull government to provide urgent pre-election aid to supply chain companies.
New figures obtained by The Australian show the impact of the looming end of local carmaking, with tens of thousands of jobs at risk as nearly half the Victorian supply chain businesses disappear.
While 71 of the 136 Victorian car industry suppliers are diversifying or have diversified, scores of others have quit or are quitting production, exposing the national economy to a potential shock late this year or in 2017.
Car industry ministers from Victoria and South Australia have demanded the Turnbull government overhaul the $2.8 billion Automotive Transformation Scheme, arguing hundreds of millions of dollars of unspent funds are needed to help industry move into other markets.
Federal Industry Minister Christopher Pyne believes that the employment landscape will be robust enough to deal with the crisis in both states.
But Victorian Industry Minister Lily D’Ambrosio told The Australian that the commonwealth needed to make markedly more funds available to enable supply chain companies to create opportunities. “We are doing all we can as a state government ... it is an especially acute situation,’’ she said. Her government has analysed the future of the Victorian supply chain, with 65 suppliers — employing thousands of people — facing a dark future when Ford closes in October.
The Holden engine plant is due to close in the same month, its South Australian assembly plant the following year and Toyota at the end of next year. South Australian Automotive Transformation Minister Kyam Maher said unspent ATS funds of just under $800 million should be used for the supply chain but also other businesses pursuing more modern markets.
“We reckon the ATS should be opened up to help companies diversify,’’ Mr Maher said.
The Productivity Commission has warned that up to 40,000 jobs are at risk as a result of the closure of motor vehicle manufacturing plants but also found that industry assistance had failed the sector.
There was more benefit pursuing other industries, it found, and called for the closure of the ATS after Ford, Holden and Toyota end local production.
A spokeswoman for Mr Pyne said: “South Australia and Victoria are well placed to weather the impact of these closures, with significant growth expected in sectors like advanced manufacturing, food and agriculture, medical technologies and pharmaceuticals, mining services, tourism and education.
“The government’s policies and approach is working, with projected economic growth for both SA and Victoria at around 2 per cent per annum over the next few years, an estimated 40,200 new jobs to be created in SA and an estimated 158,000 new jobs expected to be created in Victoria.’’
However, unions are already reporting significant hardship in Melbourne and Geelong, where the bulk of the nation’s car sector jobs are located.
Federation of Automotive Products Manufacturers manager Tom Chappell said the closure of the local car industry had left behind a highly complex landscape for regulators.
Mr Chappell said that some multinationals would leave, some would stay, but that there would be between 28,000 and 40,000 jobs lost, depending on how far down the supply chain was analysed.
“Some multinationals may well just leave,” he said.
Australian Manufacturing Workers Union national secretary (vehicle division) Dave Smith said the staggered loss of jobs was already having a serious effect.
“Honestly, I wouldn’t like to be in the northern suburbs of Adelaide,’’ he said. He said the social impact of job losses was felt acutely in the worst-affected areas.
http://www.theaustralian.com.au/national-affairs/state-politics/car-industry-closure-puts-thousands-of-jobs-at-risk/news-story/7acae08c5b8e7630c15bd2dff3b6def6
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