Manufacturing News

Autodom employees back at work for now

Around 400 Autodom employees have returned to work after the company entered voluntary administration last week and announced an indefinite halt to operations in three factories in Victoria and South Australia.

However the its future remains in the balance as receiver McGrathNicol continues to search for a potential buyer.

AMWU Victorian Assistant State Secretary, Leigh Diehm, assured members that any redundancy entitlements would be covered by the Federal Government’s GEERS scheme as the carmakers had not put up sufficient capital to cover those obligations at this time.

“Clearly Autodom should have great potential for a new buyer, there is nothing wrong with how its workforce do their jobs, there is nothing wrong with the products,” AMWU South Australian assistant state secretary Colin Fenney said.

The AMWU has urged Ford and Holden to make a long term commitment to local parts suppliers in an effort to ensure the longevity of the industry and employment security for its members.

"We need to be working with the administrators and the car companies to ensure that they can go through this administration and keep the doors open and the machinery running," Diehm told the ABC.

Speaking to 140 members at Dandenong South, Diehm said “you can be assured we’re in there fighting for your best interests. Nothing gets agreed without your approval”.

“These companies need you as much as you need them,” he said.

The recent turn of events at Autodom came as Holden announced it would be restructuring its Elizabeth plant in South Australia, removing 170 jobs from the Cruze line in the process, actions which have reignited calls for the Federal Government to adopt a national manufacturing plan.

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