More job cuts at Holden factory in Elizabeth as sales continue to slide

HOLDEN to axe 270 more workers next month at its car assembly line in Elizabeth, South Australia, as demand for locally-made vehicles hits new lows.

HOLDEN will make 270 more workers redundant at its car assembly line in Elizabeth, South Australia, next month as demand for locally-made vehicles hits new lows.

So far this year sales of the Holden Commodore are down by 17 per cent and deliveries of the Cruze small car are down by 5 per cent in a market that has just posted the strongest first three months on record.

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Sales plummeting ... The first Holden Cruz hatch on the production line at the Holden plant in Elizabeth.

Staff numbers will fall from 1530 production line workers to 1260 as a result of the cutbacks, and vehicle production will drop from 290 cars per day to 240 cars per day from May 25, when the redundancies are due to take place.

“We’re hoping the majority of the redundancies will be on a voluntary basis, that will be our first priority,” said Holden spokesman Sean Poppitt.

Holden has not ruled out further redundancies later this year.

“As difficult as this process is, the contraction of the manufacturing will happen on a sliding scale,” said Mr Poppitt.

“One of our priorities is to not release everyone onto the job market at the same time.”

Glory days ... The 50,000th VF Commodore comes off the production line after its first 10 months in March last year.

Holden says it has established counselling services, careers seminars and computer courses after hours for each of its factory workers.

A statement from Holden said: “We appreciate the impact decisions like this have on employees and their families. Holden is committed to supporting staff through this transition process.”

Despite the new round of job cuts, and persistent rumours of early shutdowns, each of Australia’s three remaining car manufacturers insists production will continue all the way to their respective closure dates.

Ford is due to close its Broadmeadows and Geelong facilities in October next year, with Holden and Toyota are due to shut their factories in late 2017.

This reporter is on Twitter: @JoshuaDowling