End of road for 120 Castalloy jobs as Harley-Davidson shuts manufacturing shop
More than 100 taxpayer-supported SA workers will lose their jobs today, as US motorcycles giant Harley-Davidson’s only manufacturing link to Australia is severed.
SA Business
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- Jan 2018: Harley-Davidson to close New Castalloy factory
- July 2013: Harley-Davison reverses decision to shut Adelaide factory
It’s the end of the road for 120 taxpayer-supported SA workers as US motorcycles giant Harley-Davidson’s only manufacturing link to Australia is severed today.
Harley-Davidson’s North Plympton-based New Castalloy factory closes today following the company’s January 2018 decision to shut down the operation in a bid to cut costs in a market where sales and demand were falling.
The Plympton factory was Harley-Davidson’s only manufacturing operation in Australia.
It continues to operate four US manufacturing sites and three international sites in Brazil, India and Thailand.
It comes as Australian Fashion Labels has been forced to close its flagship BNKR store in Rundle Mall, cutting a further 15 jobs.
The State Government had been paying Harley-Davidson $500,000 annually since 2013 to keep the jobs going and support the factory, which sits on state-owned land.
That support came with a new government lease deal and a wages agreement with the workers’ union and led to Harley-Davidson reversing its then-decision to close the operation.
When the announcement was made last year, the former Labor government said there was nothing more it could have done to save the jobs.
Harley-Davidson bought the New Castalloy business in 2006 to secure its supply of wheels and hubs after its previous supplier, Ion, went into receivership in 2004. The State Government bought the land for almost $9 million in 2006.
Harley-Davidson’s latest full year results, released in January, recorded ongoing challenges for the motorcycles industry in the US and globally.
The group is consolidating all operations into its York, Pennsylvania facility in the US, leading to the closure of another US factory.
The Milwaukee-based company sold 228,051 motorcycles in 2018, down six per cent from the 242,788 motorbikes in 2017.
Minister David Pisoni said the state Department for Industry and Skills had signed an agreement with Commonwealth Department of Jobs and Small Business and New Castalloy to assist workers to transitions.
“The value of this agreement is more than $230,000 with contributions from DIS (through
funding to TAFE valued at $34,000), Department of Jobs and Small Business ($146,000)
and New Castalloy ($55,000),” he said.
A Harley-Davidson Australia spokeswoman said the group would not be commenting. The company’s Asia-Pacific regional office is located in Sydney.
valerina.changarathil@news.com.au
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