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Holden to axe hundreds of workers in Adelaide

Friday, 26 Feb 2016 12:21:46

Holden has announced it will axe its Cruze model vehicle, resulting in hundreds of job losses at the Elizabeth plant in Adelaide's north later this year. (GM Corp.)

Hundreds of staff will be axed from Holden's Elizabeth factory in Adelaide's north from October when production of its Cruze car comes to an end.

A meeting was held at the factory today and workers were told of the impending development.

Holden's Elizabeth factory is due to close in 2017, leaving more than 1,000 people directly out of work and devastating component makers supplying the car maker.

While production of the small Cruze car will stop, the company said its Commodore range would continue to be produced until late 2017.

It will bring to an end five-and-a-half years of Cruze production, with nearly 125,000 cars built and sold in Australia.

At its peak, 33,000 Cruze vehicles were sold annually.

Holden managing director and chairman Mark Bernhand said it was a difficult time for employees but the end of Cruze production "was always part of Holden's gradual scaling down".

He said the eventual end of Cruze production was first forecast in 2014, and it had been discussed "openly" in weekly staff meetings and forums at the Elizabeth factory.

"I want to acknowledge first and foremost the impact the end of local manufacturing has on people, and their families, across the country and throughout the industry," Mr Bernhand said.

"As I've said since the first day I took up this role last year, my most important job is to support our people and I want to reaffirm that commitment to helping them where we can.

"In the coming months, we will be helping many in our manufacturing workforce transition to new employment, wherever possible."

Holden's human resources executive director Ashley Winnett said each worker had access to transition support services and up to $3,000 in approved training, both before and after they left the company.

Holden received a $30 million grant from the SA Government to help it produce the Cruze model, with the proviso that the plant stayed open until the middle of this year and Cruze production remained online until late last year.

The company said the Cruze would be replaced by 2020 by imported Astra models.

AustraliaPlus


 

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