Holden Stops Manufacturing in Australia

[Peter M]

I know by any objective economic measure that making cars here was destined to stop but I can't feel more than a little sad that Holden's won't be made here anymore.

I wish those effected well with their future employment.

[Chris-p]

Yep a very sad day. I really feel for all those affected by this decision.

C

[MB911]

Very sad for all the employees, but sad for the country too.

 

Ford and Holden gone by 2017, what do we make in this country anymore??????????

[Harvs11]

...what do we make in this country anymore??????????

Wealthy foreign resource investors.

[withers]

It's a sad day indeed. Surely our Government could have done more for both companies to keep them here.

[Blunterbryn]

Bah , pumping government money into businesses that aren't selling the cars that they are producing in this country makes no sense.

I am Ofcourse, sorry for the people loosing their jobs,and the icons that' this country will loose..

[OZ930]

I agree, although it is probably cheaper than paying out the dole.  

 

I wonder:

 

Will this change the ADRs,

will the protectionist duties be dropped,

will import rules change,

 

what will race at Bathurst?

[OZ930]

Alcoa in Gove is also shutting down because the NT government refused to supply them with free power (and they get the profits)

[nath]

Sad day but the writing has been on the wall for some time, sadly the fact that the market changed but they refused to change with it shows how slow to react they've been, and now with GM having massive spare capacity in its South Korean plant it was a sure thing they'd close up shop.

Here's hoping we get some smart investors looking for a skilled workforce and the government makes it attractive to set up shop and take on the affected employees.

[hugh]

Indeed it is a shame.........

It does seem that there are a lot of people saddened by this, most of whom don't own a new Ford or Holden?

[Steiny]

Disappointing end of an era and sad for the workers.

 

It's no surprise though - the AU economy, cost of manufacture and wages can't compete with cheaper imports.  Holdens and Fords dominated in the 50-70's when imports were rare and harder to come by.  Good point Hugh, I feel partly to blame having never bought a new Ford or Holden in my life...

[BAFE]

I feel for all those that now will have to look elsewhere to support their families.

However both Ford and Mitsubishi have proved that you need to make cars ppl actually want to buy.

And not just here but you need an export program that will give you the volume required like Toyota.

Little known fact is that Toyota actually exports more value of finished cars than it imports!

So now that we won't be making taxis anymore here can they drop the rediculous govt charges, taxes & duties?

Probably not I guess.

[T-Man]

As with most, I am indeed saddened to see an Aussie Icon go by the wayside, but more importantly the jobs lost and families affected....................however...........

This is a great example of where being short sighted and complacent gets you in a global society. Manufacturing is a tough gig in Australia and to be successful we must change employer, employee and union attitudes, otherwise we end up as extinct as the dinosaurs.

[pocketscience]

Indeed it is a shame.........

It does seem that there are a lot of people saddened by this, most of whom don't own a new Ford or Holden?

Most maybe but not all... my first car was a Ford, and my second a Holden, and my current family run-about is a Holden that I bought new only a couple of years ago. Car manufacturing has been an iconic part of Australia for as long as most of us can remember. It's bit like the day that Vegemite was owned by a US food giant, or the day Ugg boots were no longer an Aussie brand. I can't help but reiterate MB911's rhetorical question about what do we actually make any more...

 

I know the US has been going through the same questioning, and the DIY/Maker community has jumped onboard and tried to show (with some success) that it is possible to make things in the US still - you just need to decide to do it. Some larger companies (like Apple) are now re-opening manufacturing in the US to show that's possible as well. Australia is no different - we just need the people with the money to decide that it's worth doing.

 

Best of luck to all those impacted directly and indirectly...

 

 

G.

[MB911]

Indeed it is a shame.........

It does seem that there are a lot of people saddened by this, most of whom don't own a new Ford or Holden?

 

Not sure about that Hugh, sadly you could be right though, given a lot of people drive I30's and whatever these days......

 

My first car was a Holden, and between my wife and I we have had at least one Holden in the family since 1987. At last count I think we have had 6 x V8 Commodores, 2 x V6's and an assortment of utes, etc.

 

Most people on the forum may not own one now, but I am pretty sure most of us came back from Hospital in a Ford or a Holden, did family holidays in a Ford or a Holden. I guess that makes the point really doesn't it, Holden hasn't failed in Australia, Australia has failed Holden.

 

As a work mate put so eloquently the other day "Gen Y, buy a Commodore you b$%tards". I think it is all ages that are buying small cars these days though, not just the younger drivers.

 

Sadly a sign of the times.

[webrest]

Let's hope GM does not have the cheek to import product from Asia and call it a Holden.

 

Mind you, Australia may well be owned by Asia by 2017 so naming it "Holden, Asia's Car" may be quite fitting.

 

Tough that the employees are going to be out in a marketplace that no longer values manufacturing skills.

Hopefully GM will have the decency to release the employees in stages so they are not all looking for a job at the one time.

 

Globalization don't you just love it.

 

Dave

[tazzieman]

what do we make in this country anymore??????????

 

Coal. Universities. Dickens cider.  Smile  

 

Even my wife says I should've kept my first car - an HR Holden with widies and the vinyl roof.

[hugh]

Not sure about that Hugh, sadly you could be right though, given a lot of people drive I30's and whatever these days......

 

My first car was a Holden, and between my wife and I we have had at least one Holden in the family since 1987. At last count I think we have had 6 x V8 Commodores, 2 x V6's and an assortment of utes, etc.

 

Most people on the forum may not own one now, but I am pretty sure most of us came back from Hospital in a Ford or a Holden, did family holidays in a Ford or a Holden. I guess that makes the point really doesn't it, Holden hasn't failed in Australia, Australia has failed Holden.

 

As a work mate put so eloquently the other day "Gen Y, buy a Commodore you b$%tards". I think it is all ages that are buying small cars these days though, not just the younger drivers.

 

Sadly a sign of the times.

I wont deny that they used to be popular, however a lot has changed since then......................

 

You only need to look at the sales figures between manufacturer makes and models to see that people are not buying them. The writing has been on the wall for some time unfortunately. Yes, a sign of the times. 

[Guest hepkat63]

Of course it is very sad when anyone loses their job - let alone thousands in SA and VIC - along with the indirect job losses through the supply chain.  Yes, like probably everyone else in Australia - i have owned many holdens.  If fact, i have the latest Holden Cruze SRIv now - which I love and it is easily the best car Holden has ever made.   That said, i can't support any Government putting money into failed businesses - nor would i expect them too anymore that I would any other struggling business.  It is through their (Holden) own arrogance in making cars that they wanted too - rather than what people wanted which has led mainly to their demise.  The writing was on the wall over ten years ago - people no longer wanted big thumping cars.  Anyway - that's my two cents worth - not all will agree, but it's said all the same.

[Tit]

I've got a buddy that used to work at the SA plant.  He worked on the bodies for the last Monaros.  He was saying that the Fed government money was going straight back to Detroit. Remember, their auto-industry is struggling too.  This company behaved exactly how you would expect an international company to behave.  If the body is sick, tread the torso before the extremities.  Why should our taxes go to reviving a shitty city in Michigan?

 

If you want to play the capitalist game, you have to be prepared to take the losses with the wins. Capitalism is also Darwinistic - Holden, Ford, Mistubishi Aus and Toyota Aus have failed to adapt to their environment and have been 'naturally selected'.  

 

This is a canary in the cage situation for Australia.  We need to stop over-relying on our commodities industries and romanticising about these labour-intensive industries that suited us 40 years ago.  With the rise in wages and living conditions came a migration of the population to higher education and working condition expectations from the workforce and employers.

 

Australian's wouldn't tolerate returning to the economic conditions that would make these labour-intesive industries viable here - low wages, less flexible working conditions, low-value AUD etc.  You can't have it both ways!  Let the Asian countries take those industries...they are good at them.

 

This is not a bad thing. We just need to identify our contemporary strengths and plan for an appropriate future.  Such things as education, research, design, technology, knowledge, financial and service-based industries etc. It's a generational change so there's going to be bleating from the media about this for some time...

[nath]

Indeed writing on the wall for sometime.

[edgy]

 

Most people on the forum may not own one now, but I am pretty sure most of us came back from Hospital in a Ford or a Holden, did family holidays in a Ford or a Holden. 

 

 

 

That is very true ^^

 

We had Holden's all throughout my growing up, it seemed to be part of the Aussie dream to buy a new commodore! My dad as a migrant was very proud when he realised this 'aussie dream' for the first time, he still owns a Holden to this day, alas she's parked up gathering dust most days of the year. 

 

Also growing up, we were too poor to fly away for holidays so we had many a driving holidy in our commodores, one I remember profoundly was going to Tassie in a brand new VS, it broke down  

 

 

 

Indeed writing on the wall for sometime. image.jpg

 

That's alarming indeed, you must have to wonder how they could possibly let it het that bad! Its for this reason ^^ I do not get upset with Porsche for being progressive with the market. 

[Russ]

I love how in the early 80s the ford falcon was the best selling CAR in Australia (not just in it's segment)

shows how quickly an established brand can go bad

[Coastr]

It's a sad day indeed. Surely our Government could have done more for both companies to keep them here.

I don't agree at all. subsequent governements have meekly handed over the farm to avoid bad headlines associated with this. To me it almost feels like Labor had to lose Ford while in office, and the Liberals lose Holden in office, so they could neutralize the issue and finally get out from the yoke of blackmail. In fact I bet Tony Abbott and Bill Shorten have both collectively sighed with relief that the inevitable is now out there.

It's a sad day for those employed (but they still get 4 years to sort out their next move, plus a redundancy payout - most people get 4 weeks)

It's a sad day for those who love commodores

It's a good day for people who enjoy cars of other brands, and for employees of just about every other company in the country.

Take a look at the details of the Toyota enterprise agreement in today's Australian. 3 years before you get lose your job. Casuals to become permanent after 1 month. 1 supervisor per 5 workers. Well above CPI pay increases. You just can't run businesses with these type of conditions. I would dream of such certainty in employment, and so would many others. Of course, the only way to keep these conditions was paying the companies billions of dollars in subsidies over time. So we all work at our jobs to pay ever higher taxes to give to a tiny minority so that they can produce a car that few of us actually buy. It's car manufacturing theatre, not real industry.

Anything that can't go on forever, wont.

The next step is to put pressure on the government to remove all the protection for the motor industry now that Detroit has pulled the plug, and Toyota is probably not far behind.

Currently, foreign car companies like Porsche collectively pocket billions from Australians by exploiting the same protections designed for the local assemblers. That money belongs back in the pockets of all of us. The Porsche Macan is not a $90k vehicle. It costs that much because of all the protections put in place to protect ford and Holden. Well, that's not needed now, so i look forward to the day when we can all order a $50k Macan.

As for v8 super cars, it's a silhouette series now with plastic body panels on a space frame chassis. Does anyone think that this is a coincidence, that the new formula was introduced before the local assemblers went kaput? Whatever replaces the commodore and falcon will have their silhouettes applied to a v8 chassis, and everyone will pretend that nothing has really changed.

Change is inevitable. It is not the 1970s anymore, and everyone in Oz needs to buckle down and face the world head-on with our big-boy pants on.

[Coastr]

I love how in the early 80s the ford falcon was the best selling CAR in Australia (not just in it's segment)

shows how quickly an established brand can go bad

The reason we all had Falcons and Commodores was because our parents couldn't afford anything else. There was punitive tariffs, local content laws and all sorts of other things in place to price imports out of the market. The only reason Mitsubishi, Nissan, VW and Toyota were even here was because of the local content laws that made it prohibitive to import. So we got poor reproductions of Japanese cars assembled locally and even then they were able to beat the outdated tech and plants of the American companies. I'm not at all sentimental about having to ride around on a crappy vinyl bench seat so we could have a car with an Australian flag on it. In fact, this sowed the seeds of the demise, because the moment we got a taste for imported vehicles we couldn't get enough of them, considering how much better they were. I remember when we got an ancient Benz instead of a Falcon. Smooth, quiet, comfortable and with AC. What a step up in vehicle.