Holden cuts 170 jobs at Adelaide plant

By Jez Spinks | November 02nd, 2012

FIND DEALS

Holden has announced it is cutting another 170 jobs from its operations, blaming a sustained high Australian dollar and slowing sales of locally built models.

The move follows the axing of about 200 jobs in February, split between casual workers and those on fixed-term contracts, and comes despite a $275 million Federal and state assistance package for GM Holden that was announced in March.

The local car maker says the jobs will be shed via a voluntary redundancy program.

“Due to a reduction in demand for our Australian-built cars led by a sustained high Australian dollar, combined with one of the world’s most open and competitive car markets, we have a need to reduce the size of our workforce at Holden Vehicle Operations (HVO) in Adelaide by approximately 170 positions through a voluntary separation program,” said the company in a statement.

“This move will better align production with customer requirements and projected future volume and is a necessary step to ensure that we are able to continue to have a viable manufacturing operation in Australia for the next decade.”

Holden earlier this year accelerated the speed of its production plant, improving efficiency and reducing the product cycle from 104 seconds to 60 seconds.

Daily production is dropping from about 460 vehicles per day to 400.

Sales of the Holden Commodore have continued in the same direction as the rival Ford Falcon, dropping 27 per cent year on year to September 2012. Holden’s other locally built model, the Cruze small car, has also experienced a double-digit fall, by 11 per cent.

The long-term future of the Holden Commodore remains uncertain even ahead of an all-new model that goes on sale in 2013.

Holden confirmed expectations at the recent 2012 Sydney motor show that it would build the second-generation Cruze from 2015, though a second local model it has committed to until at least 2022 as part of the $275m co-investment program remains a mystery.

The job cuts announcement comes in a week when local car makers have been faced with the prospect of halting production temporarily after a major local parts supplier closed its factories indefinitely.

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Daniel

I’ve written it before and I’ll write it again; it’s not that I want loads of people to be unemployed, but a car industry in this country makes no sense. It maybe made sense a long time ago when it started, but now we have about fifty other brands here from all over the world that all make superior and far more relevant cars than Holden and we all know that Holden is probably too far behind to really catch up. Same with the Falcon. But once again, obviously employment is an issue, but rather than the government pouring money into car manufacturing, I think it would make far more sense to put money into new industries that create jobs. A car company in a country of 21 million that doesn’t export makes no sense, it’s time to look at that realistically rather than see it as an attack on Australia.
- DanielD
  
  A proactive government pushing exports from our car sector and not allowing free trade agreements to be used agains’t us like Thailand did, would be a great start. As for tariffs we ar e already a laughing stock, having tariffs well below all of the countries that sell cars in Australia.
  
  Holden are not behind the times, despite the common misconception and they are much more highly regarded for their engineering overseas then they are unfortunately in Australia. Australians have a cultural cringe agains’t Holden and Ford and its not entirely undeserved either. Both companies are poor at building and maintaining loyalty in their customer bases and their American overseers often simply don’t understand the market here.
  
  That said the the VF update will bring much to the Commodore as will the 2014 update for Falcon.
  
  In the scheme of things fixing an industry that is highly regarded for its engineering expertise and capacity to do much with very little seems to make sense to me. Many Australians have gone on to great success in the auto industry, but with our tall poppy syndrome, the media ignore them and the successes and reputation they bring to Australia. Why forfeit an industry that one thirteen countries in the world can do, because we can’t be bothered to boost the positives that industry brings us? Makes no sense to me.
  
  Closing an industry is easy, but once its gone its gone. Starting a new one today, will be even tougher. In the end we all can’t dig holes for a living or work for the public service or make coffee and sandwiches at the local cafe. We need engineers of all types, craftsman and highly skilled trades people if we are to be a first world nation. The manufacturing sector isn’t optional for Australia if we want to retain wealth and jobs for Australia after the mining boom. The car industry helps gives us that.
  - Daniel
    
    There are lots of industries that need engineers that aren’t motoring. And I’d take a guess that it’s not the engineers and craftsmen that are losing their jobs, it’s the people on the factory lines. If no one wants the product enough to buy it, unfortunately that’s pretty much the end of the story for anyone working there. What are the engineers doing anyway? The last update barely changed the Commodore at all and the same model remains for ages at a time. Holden are massively behind the times. I don’t have any prejudice against them, but I call them like I see them and when I had to drive a Commodore recently it was so…backward. It felt old. The interior was tacky and cheap and it was gulping down petrol. Say what you like, but to someone about to put money down on a car, quality and economy matter more than RWD these days. As for the Cruze, well the competition is mostly better and I really don’t know what else to say about it.
    
    You can’t expect people to buy just because it’s Australian. With a quality product that is up to scratch (or, dare I say it, better) compared to the competition, which they do not have, the fact it’s built here should be no more than a plus, not it’s major selling point.
    
    But my opinions aren’t really about the cars anyway, I’m more pointing out that it seems kinder to the good people who work there to anticipate the inevitable and have something for them to do when people stop buying their cars entirely.
- Zaccy16
  
  totally agree, it doesn’t help either that our government is making it extremely hard to make cars here
- R10RRK
  
  I will fix this problem !
  
  EXPORT HOLDEN TO UK AND YOU WILL BE AMAZED !
  THERE ARE PEOPLE WHO WANT SOMETHING DIFFERENT TO GERMAN CARS UP HERE AND BELIEVE ME YOU WILL SELL !
  
  Holden make some decent cars, its a matter of smelling where its going to be selling..
- SirRob
  
  Daniel…I wholly agree, well said.
- Chris
  
  Well said Daniel, the Government in this country is propping up a dying industry and delaying the inevitable, and throwing our tax dollars down the drain in the process.
  - Huwtm
    
    Interesting thing about this discussion is that the Euros, English specifically are making almost exactly the same comments. Closures in the UK have taken 7000 jobs. Guess the big picture is that the world economy INCLUDING Australia, is still in the toilet.
Golfmother

Agreed why should we prop up two american owned companies with more problems than they can handle with their euro factories , their losses are are not our problem .
- Goodbye
  
  It’s this sort of self-centered and unpatriotic view that’s killing these cars. What about the thousands of workers? Holden may be American owned, but that does not mean that it isn’t Australian.
  - Golfmother
    
    PATRIOTS support australian owned products , the americans have bled profits out of this market for 60 years , and got away with serving up average cars to a gullible public .
    
    Since the japanese shook up the market , they have conned successive govts into propping up their factories , meanwhile they miss read the downsizing market way too late .
  - Huwtm
    
    Actually being American owned does mean it NOT Australian.
    
    This brings into perspective the story of the Supplier closing. If you think of the big picture and how GM in particular operates with suppliers and smaller off shoots. They screw a supplier to the wall, that eliminates one high cost option. They then have an excuse to halt slow production and can offset the blame They can also say “look they couldn’t give us what we need to survive here, we 1) need more money 2) need to get those parts off shore” Bet you that’s where it’s heading.
  - Incog
    
    Mate, heres a heads up, if these companies cant make enough money
    to pay wages, and/or require taxpayer dollars to do same, then you have pretend jobs, the jobs dont really exist. The business of business is business, make profits, if you cant do that, whats the point of existing.
    - JooberJCW
      
      True in business sense, but what do you do with the thousands of workers direct/indirectly, add losses from tax income company and worker? It will hurt the economy worse with all the compensation/welfare payments and no tax income.
      - bb
        
        There is supposed to be a shortage of skilled workers and tradies, these people can retrain and contribute instead of living off handouts.
      - incog
        
        correction, should have read “if they are NOT in business.”
        
        BTW, are you SURE these companies pay tax, really sure? Holden has a history of losses over the last decade, not every year, but most. What company tax?
        Employee tax losses, really, just contra that revenue loss with the 100′s of millions in taxpayer handouts being given to the companies, there is no tax loss.
        
        I agree there will be damage, but do not overstate the impact, it will flip both ways.
        
        The business of business is business, this is a US traded company that lives of taxpayers, its that simple, this isnt a business, its a farce, same for Toyo and Ford. They dont create wealth, they are parasites feeding of the taxpayer host, they LIVE of those who do create wealth, they have been for decades.
        
        Its pretty simple, if the companies cant afford to pay wages without taxpayer support, then the jobs dont exist.
      - JooberJCW
        
        Incog: example recently holden receives 275Mill over 10 years to co-develop.
        
        Sure lets say the company makes losses and wont account for tax revenue from profits. but the last time holden made losses were 2 years ago ever since then its been positive.
        
        But that saying Holden made 90Mil profit last year and 112Mil for 2010 and looks to set another one for this year. So the government knows theres prospect for the coming years.
        
        Regarding employees…
        
        Takes the base handout 27.5Mil / Year, lets say 2000 workers pay 10,000 in income tax 2000×10,000 = 20Mil a year from staff
        
        and thats not accounting impacted suppliers. add tax on company income, its would be returning positive back on the government repayment needs.
        
        Also, these are not just simple handouts just to keep them running either, the government agreed with holden to have a replayment system and is conditional based on performance milestones as well as a program showing for the long-term. Add that GM HQ (being the most scrutinising regarding cost savings) pitched in 1Billion of their own cash to this, shows they have forcasted positive outlook ahead.
        
        Though I can’t say the same for Ford, luckily Geelong is going through an industrial change, perhaps thats a sign Ford is inevitably going to become a Mitsubishi.
      - Incog
        
        Joober, your comment – “True in business sense…”
        
        Please explain then what exactly these companies are, all three of them, if they are in business…what are they?
        
        Just wondering.
      - JooberJCW
        
        Business are to make money as you said. I was pointing out that if they had to collapse the fallout would be worse if the government simply pulled the plug,
        
        The government needs to have a transitioning program to get redundant workers into other industries, you’d hope whilst they receive handouts the government is doing so.
      - incog43
        
        Joober, in the last 10 years I believe Holden has shown profits for only 3 years.
        The money GIVEN to these companies has another add on, interest, you may have noticed taxpayers currently owe the market circa 200 billion dollars, the cost of same is circa 4%.
        Have you ever added the sum of all these grants over the last say 20 years, staggering.
        This is a free market economy, your argument that fall out from closure holds no water, oh there will be pain, but see heres the thing, that very same argument has been making the rounds for 20+ years, and still we shovel money into these seemingly endless vacuums.
        GM poured a billion of their own dollars in did they, you mean the same GM that needed 50+ billion in taxpayer dollars to survive? Whose money did they pour into Holden?
        Its a shame that this iconic industry has effectively become the equivalent or a branch of our public service, businesses whose profits are marginal at best and ANY they in fact do make are effectively tax free as taxpayers are required to hand it back by way of grants.
        Same discussion 20+ years later, same jobs, same handouts, a shrinking industry in employment terms no one prepared to pull the plug.
        As an aside, the employees who are made redundant should be treated as anyone else, New start and whatever training course are avaliable to assist.
        See, if these people have not seen the writing on the wall for the last 20+ years then thats their problem. People are responsible for themselves ultimately.
      - incog
        
        One more point, for tax purposes, if accumulated losses exceed profits then no tax is paid, could it be that Holden has not paid any company income tax on the last 2 years profits? I think so, yes indeed.
        
        I ask you again, if the business of business is business, what the hell is this parasite of a company good for.
        
        In a free market, real jobs are created by profits and a return on capital, what the hell is this company good for, it exists on taxpayer handouts as does its parent company, it bleeds taxpayers with no return on investment, promises, oh there have been promises, and yet still taxpayers bleed for it. If your arguement is that there will be job losses then lets get it done and these people into “real” jobs that are paid for by profits, not taxpayer welfare.
      - Andrew M
        
        Name these “Real jobs”
        
        In a time of record low job vancancies people already trained and skilled in “real industries” are already finding it tough to get work.
        
        Finding work at the moment has never been more difficult.
        
        Sure the government might be able to spend billions in re training and financial support to get a new job, but there are no guarantees.
        
        The way I see it, would you be happier if they werent called businesses but rather a jobs project??
        They can be justified as a jobs project. Also, rest assured that the income tax received coupled with the dole checks they dont have to write makes it a break even “Jobs project”, so either way you look at it, just leave it be.
        
        On the flip side, lets say that closing it down tomorrow is best (as you illude to), now is certainly not the time.
      - incog
        
        @4bcd83a770a47e0ee210c0ce515d75af:disqus
        
        YOUR COMMENT “The way I see it, would you be happier if they werent called businesses but rather a jobs project??
        
        They can be justified as a jobs project.”
        
        Good grief, cognitive dissonance at its extreme. I prefer reality Andrew, that would be the real world. Its a business supposedly that feasts of the carcass otherwise known as taxpayers.
        
        Oh maybe I have it wrong, as a taxpayer I must now have shares in this company…no wait, I dont, wait, still a 30% ownership by US taxpayers, wow, this is a circus
        
        When would be a good time Andrew, after we taxpayers pour another couple of 100 million into this corpse?
        
        If the jobs are not there, they go on new start, like every other unemployed person does, perhaps 2 manufacturers can make a profit whereas 3 struggle?
        
        Holden profit 2010 was 112 million, thats great, included in that profit was taxpayer grants of 99.4 million. Thats one hell of a company.
        
        By the way Andrew, The only money Governnment has to play with is primarily tax revenues and debt raisings, the government does not give money to Holden, taxpayers do, taxpayers also have to repay the current gvt debt of 200 million +interest.
        
        Just as an aside, I take it you are a labor/green voter?
      - Andrew M
        
        Umm I dont know what political preference has to do with it, but for the record last time I voted Libs
        You must also believe in star signs if you think you can pin someones attitude to a particular group.
        
        You obviously didnt get my point or you wouldnt have sounded off touting the same old line as every other anti government funding person on here
        
        Im more annoyed that the Government wastes over a billion dollars on a failed payroll system than 100million in keeping people in jobs.
        I think people need a little perspective here.
        
        So you would claim it to better that 5000 people enter the new start program at a cost of 100million a year, and thats before you consider other unemployment related benefits.
        
        Also, those 5000 unemployed people equates to 40-50million less revenue from the income tax they would have payed if they sustained their job.
        
        5000 unemployed people cost the government 150 million big ones.
        Just have a think about that and put it into perspective before you keep whinging
  - seenallgooddays
    
    Kraft & Vegemite American owned ,, the successive governments all this down tun could have been prevented , Governments only see 4 years = there term, as said in this country with a pop of 22mill we have more car choice than in the USA with a pop of 335 mill , governments say we love industry what rubbish chuck a few million in when the road gets rough , as an old fart I saw this evolving 30 years ago in THE car industry ,
    we in AUSTRALIA made washing machines,microwave ovens, stoves fridges tractors trucks stoves airconditioners radios and yes T.V.s and lots more we have played the free trade game with asean countries for very very little return oh yeah our politians love strut the stage , we all forget about the Orbital Co no help from the Govt sold and set up in Detroit with OMC, Techcumseh and others welcomed with open arms [ Orbital are srill here as R&D ]
    
    Car manufacturers are somewhat too blame in Fords case restriction of Ford manufactured product , 2016 can not come fast enough for them their phasing in of new vehicle types overseas its hilighted production below 100 units a day is catastrophic.
    Driven owned raced both marques but the day is nearer than contemplated ,the big clock as they refer was at 11.45 for many years ago today I believe its 11.55
    
    they say ultimately we are better of with full importation inc G.M. & Ford cheaper cars apparently thats what 80% of the buying public want
    
    its just time
  - http://twitter.com/jackkl Jack Lewis
    
    That’s not even close to what’s killing the Australian car industry – its the fact that not everyone has the finances/need/space/taste for a large car.
    
    The two largest categories in the Australian car market, to my knowledge, are small cars and SUVs. Cruze doesn’t make a compelling enough argument in the ultra-competitive small car space. The Territory (as great as it is), doesn’t cover enough of the total market for SUVs.
    
    I would never allow myself to purchase a car that doesn’t meet my needs exactly. And I bet that’s the same with the overwhelming majority of consumers.
  - birdie
    
    holden himself was a import , from england . if it wasnt for GM , there wouldnt be holden . there never was an austrailian owned car company , and there never will be
- James Cortez
  
  yes why do you then ask the USA when you need engines to power up your V6, V8 commodore instead of making them yourself, can you?
- Repus008
  
  well maybe American but you miss one MAJOR point they employ Australians
- GT10
  
  I think you will find that it is just a working for the dole scheme with the benefit of upskilling. Hopefully leading to workers achieving employment in other viable businesses.
Dave W

I like how they slip this sentence in there…

“… combined with one of the world’s most open and competitive car markets,..”

Is that like a hint at the government to start implementing more tax on imported cars?

Here’s a hint for you Holden, and to Ford as well… DEVELOP SOMETHING ELSE OTHER THAN A LARGE SEDAN!! Downsize to a medium sedan or something. Make a Medium size SUV, anything other than large sedan.

Your Cruze is doing well, which shows that people still want to buy Aussie built cars, you just have to realise less and less people want to buy large sedans and that your Cruze should be cheaper than the imported cars in its class.
- Latin Fish Names
  
  Why not produce Australian designed commercial vehicles, like vans, utes, etc and export them globally. I’m convinced Aussie designers and engineers can develop world beating products that would quickly gain a global reputation as tough and reliable. The other nice thing about focussing on commercials is that model cycles are longer and the cars are less capital intensive and offer good margins… here is where we could exploit a comparative advantage in our design and engineering skills and make our auto industry self sustaining selling into a global market.
- dave
  
  Holden and ford build large cars because its part of there DNA, they know how to, and in fords case they do it bloody well. Why downsize when a falcon/commodore is more exciting, practical and safer. Plus they are the two best cars to deal with Australian conditions and its roads.
  - Dave W
    
    Because as you can see from the shrinking sales, the number of people who share your view and actually buy their cars aren’t enough to keep them in business, let alone profitable.
    
    DNA or not, V8 supercar or not, large sedans aren’t making them any money.
    - Huwtm
      
      Yeah Dave just my point – large cars will eventually go, it’s the future.
Doctor

“blaming a sustained high Australian dollar and slowing sales of locally built models.”
I have a translation: “hardly anyone wants our Commodore (or Ford’s Falcon) and people have now realised how good the Cruze is – not very.”
I know that the high dollar is not good for Commodore exports but it surely makes the cost of the “Daewoo flat-packs” from GM-Korea cheap so its really the product that is the problem.
Wile E Coyote

As I have said before “death by a thousand cuts”.
Must be getting close.
Waggaclint

I think the only reason car companys make cars in Aust is because the Federal Govt gives them big incentives to say and in the next few years im sure that change…
- dave
  
  Just like all counties with manufacturing… especially the auto industry…
Rusty Holden

Maybe we need to have a look at the facts contributing to the problem,
Australia per person contributes on average $20 to the automotive industry
America contributes $200
Australia sells on average 1 million cars per year sourced from 60 different manufactures
America sells 12-13,000,000 cars per year from 31 different manufacturers
Australia also has the lowest tariffs in the world. Every other country has higher tariffs to protect their automotive manufacturing plants.
We will let in any crappy brand regardless of their safety rating due to our government sucking up to the rest of the world.
The South Australian Govt has contributed nearly $500 million to upgrade Adelaide oval which hardly causes a whimper. Yet $200 million to support thousands of jobs in the automotive industry is viewed as a waste of money.
Maybe we should all spend more time stopping the Govt selling out to the Chinese rather than laying the boots into Holden and Ford.
- Dave W
  
  It’s not that people don’t want to support the local industry, but it’s not like giving some donation to a charity. In the end, we have to live with the car we bought and if Holden and Ford refuse to change and don’t make products that people want, then you can’t blame people for not buying their products.
  
  It would also be pointless for the govt to support them. It would be like plugging someone to a life support machine knowing that s/he is not going to get better.
  
  We’re already paying higher premium for imported cars compared to other countries, increasing tariff is just going to make people resent the government even more. Plus if that happens, my prediction is people keeping their cars longer, 2nd hand car market booming, new car market slumps and people will still NOT buy a Falcon or Commodore.
  - Andrew M
    
    If imported cars are apparently dearer, then why dont you guys start asking questions of the makes that import.
    Dollar being massivly high and tariffs reducing to pretty much nothing means the importers are getting away with over charging the consumers.
    Why do you think we have the highest number of brands coming here to OZ? because they see us as a cashed up dumping ground
    - Dave W
      
      I totally agree with you. Luckily the car industry is not an oligopoly market where the producers are the price setters. You can see signs of car price going down to a more reasonable level, eg. Toyota 86 and the UK made Civic.
      
      Only competition will bring the price down I’m afraid. Luckily, the Koreans brought that in spades. Even if their cars aren’t as cheap as before, they’re still the best value for money due to the amount of standard equipment that comes with their cars.
      
      That said, why is the Aussie made Cruze priced higher than some of the more popular competitors? Let’s say it’s because of the higher labour cost, but shouldn’t the cheaper logistics offset it? They’re lucky their plants aren’t located in NSW otherwise we’d see a higher price tag due to the ripoff utility price here.
- incog
  
  Rusty there is np problem with providing support, but for how many generations…
- James Cortez
  
  Really? Australia has lower tariffs than other countries? Go to North America nd cars are cheaper there.
  - dave
    
    omg… really
  - Andrew M
    
    Well you need to start looking at the importers then not the gov.
    
    Ever stop to think the imported makes are the ones rolling in our high dollar and low import duties???
Latin Fish Names

Holden’s woes are all to do with poor product from GM that does not meet the expectations of the market. Commodore is a worthy car, however it is unnecessarily big and thirsty, with the wagon not offering an integrated 7 seat option, further limiting its market. Holden needs to put in a diesel and a small capacity turbo to keep the car relevant. The LPG variant is a good idea, but it is a compromise… where is the liquid injection and the conformable tank so that you can keep your spare tyre? The Cruise is a good concept, poorly executed. It looks and feels cheap and the styling shouts Nth America… sorry cars like the new i30 kill it. How about the small cars like Barina and the Spark? These look terrible and feel cheap, cars like the Polo, Rio, Jazz, etc rip these cars to shreds.

I point the finger at GM senior management who think they know what the Australian market wants… they have no idea. GM global cars are designed for Nth America and boy do they look and feel it. The closest GM cars that meet our market tastes and expectations are Opel. How about locally and Korean assembled Opels badged as Holdens that have localisations to make them more reliable and robust? I’d say they would storm the market.
Troy

Looks like he so called smart people of this world arn’t that smart afterall, no government, beurocrat or Industry expert has the knowledge, foresight, endevour or moral any commonsense to have not seen this comming. My guess is once you earn enough remuneration the mind works differantly. please can we start thinking long term, start looking at what other high labour cost countries do with there Auto industries, encourage our young to embrace education & put in place legislation to protect our indusry & also improve it.. Please stop th BS and start thinking forward, our mines are not going to sustain us forever, just ask GINA!
- Incog
  
  Sure Troy lets consider that..GM, bail them out endlessly, Chrysler, ditto.
  Consider this, when we these companies learn there lessons if there are
  no consequences, when failure does not mean failure, it means bail out.
  
  As an aside, Countries with high labor costs cannot generally compete against
  slave labor, its that simple. Free trade reduces our standard of living whilst
  increasing theirs. At the same time the corporates increase profits. Got an
  IPhone? You think that piece of plastic is worth $600+, they don’t make those in
  the USA Consider the profit margin on that piece of plastic, that’s why Apple
  trades at circa $600 a share. That’s why they make cars in Thailand, Brazil,
  Mexico, China. That’s why the US Feds spent a fortune periodically bailing out GM, that’s
  why our own governments throw 100′s millions at our makers.
  
  The Holden/Ford product is fine, like it or dont, buy it or not, thats personal choice,
  But there not a Golf, or Mazda 3 must have. You think they actually make money
  on the Cruze? Peanuts maybe, not their fault, or manufacturing industries
  need protection against imports with a low cost labor component.
  
  Short term, mid term, long term, they are done, they have been done for years, turning off the taxpayer life support will determine when.
- JooberJCW
  
  Long term is not in the books of ceo’s executives, why they are driven by shareholders wanting return on investment now now now. which means their job lives in the short term, don’t perform to the owners demands and get booted out or minimally don’t get the bonus they want, Its always a sacrifice of long term to short term, its a inherent cancer in public companies.
Golfmother

God I love the sausage
- Golfmother
  
  Floppy eating your way through life , watch out or you will get so fat you wont fit in your falcoon .
JACK

The Commodore great car have had Holdens all my life terrific cars the only way to travel
Guest

I was shocked when I found out Holden stocks was not on ASX. I knew Ford Australia can’t be on the stock market since it’s clearly another branch of Ford America, but Holden? They suppose to be the Australian car company!

This basically means both Holden and Ford spend all their profits to headquarter in US. How could they do this when they claim to be “Aussie brands”? It doesn’t make a sense we pour endless taxpayers’ money into foreign companies that are taking Australian workers as hostages.

I think it’s a time we need to let Holden and Ford go bankrupt and start a new Australian car brand which is wholly owned by the people of Australia. We have money, technologies, resources, highly experienced workers and infrastructures to do this. Only thing we need is a little bit of help from Canberra.
- JamesB
  
  There isn’t a truly Australian car company. Stop dreaming and get on with reality.
  - Guest
    
    I know there is no real Australian car company, so I said we need to start a new one that is owned by the people of Australia.
- R10RRK
  
  wow this guy sounds like he came from Mars…..
  
  You are clearly clueless about business and innovations and market branding…
JamesB

On the one side, I really pity the workers who’ve been laid off, as well as their families, but on the other, Holden isn’t worth saving. It’s been nothing but a fraud, producing a big sedan that was pretty much a refaced, rebadged Opel donor car with a Buick V6 or Chevy V8. While the current VE was designed here, the parts are still imported. The Commodore has never been cheap, cutting-edge or reliable, but people still buy them simply because they’re told it’s Australian. The rest of the range is merely Daewoo compost that should die with that company.
- Zaccy16
  
  Exactly! the current commodore and cruze are awful cars, on the other hand the falcon and territory are fantastic aussie cars and should have been exported years ago!
  - R10RRK
    
    Just export some of the high range Holden’s to the UK they will do well. Its a different flavour to the Germans but will compete with Ford.
    
    What’s preventing them from doing this ? DO GM really want to downsize and shut down the operations down under ?
    - Huwtm
      
      They already do
    - Zaccy16
      
      both ford and gm look like they want to shut down operations in aus!
    - Zaccy16
      
      both ford and gm look like they want to shut down operations in aus!
      - Huwtm
        
        I think you are right Zaccy, these games with suppliers and shutting down production all point to a move. It’s typical corporate pressurisation. Like Qantas did. It’s the same game the world over. Could there be collusion regarding that parts supplier?
      - Huwtm
        
        I think you are right Zaccy, these games with suppliers and shutting down production all point to a move. It’s typical corporate pressurisation. Like Qantas did. It’s the same game the world over. Could there be collusion regarding that parts supplier?
  - Bent6brigade
    
    Zuppy you know about horrible cars driving a Polio.
    - Zaccy16
      
      I do know horrible cars, cheap korean s**t commodores and cruzes, why would anyone by the ancient commodore over the much better engineered falcon and why would anyone by a ugly cheap cruze when the mazda 3 is fun to drive and well made?
    - Zaccy16
      
      I do know horrible cars, cheap korean s**t commodores and cruzes, why would anyone by the ancient commodore over the much better engineered falcon and why would anyone by a ugly cheap cruze when the mazda 3 is fun to drive and well made?
- Dave S
  
  So what does that mean? you are against platform sharing? many cars on the market share a platform, just look at VW, Mazda / Ford and Toyota and Subaru.
  
  The Commodore range like the Flacon range is Australian. It is designed in Australia, it is not built anywhere else in the world and has been exported to every continent.
Gibwater

The VE is no VT.People just don’t want them. When first released,the VE was ‘different’.Now its uglier than the NRMA parts car.Too big,too brash,too tasteless and-now-too many of them. A big fan of early Commodores,Toranas,Monaros,Kingswoods and Statesmans,I wouldn’t touch anything Holden currently offers.We want decent cars,utes and SUV’s-and we want them designed and built in Australia. Maybe then sales will start heading north again.
Luke Brinsmead

If Australia was coming out of poverty and very desperate for higher paid work, maybe our nation would be more productive at the moment.

If one looks at current successful industrialising nations like China, Korea etc, one common similarity can be seen, they all were recently living in poverty (as defined by the industrialised western world.)
- Golfmother
  
  Conversly high paid wage nations now struggle with some manufacturing , most of japan’s metal , industries , electronics has moved to china/vietnam etc .
  
  We are now seeing japan speed up the process of moving car factories elswhere in asia chasing low wages .
  
  This process of chasing cheap labour started with origins of the industrial; revolution , as nations become richer labour intensive industies are passed over and high tech manufacturing replaces it .
  
  Our car industry faces the double wammy of high labour costs and old tech factories that dont warrant up grading to the latest robotic lines due the wrong sized cars still being made here , with quickly diminishing sales .
- Dave W
  
  lol I love how we simply assume that they were recently living in poverty… Maybe you’re right about China, but you’re so wrong about South Korea and Japan.
  
  You want to know why they’re successful? Because their workforce is not full of bludgers who chuck sickie whenever they want. They have excellent work ethics.
  
  Over here, it’s about clocking in at 8am, trying to do as little work as possible in the office, and clock off at 4pm, and on Friday, straight to the pub.
  - Huwtm
    
    Dave w, you are dead right. As a business owner, getting people to get in and actually work is a nightmare. First question, “If I don;t work, what do I get paid?”
    - Golfmother
      
      I will second that , STAFF , the biggest problem , and all of my associates cite the same problem .