jobs

Australia’s manufacturing union is reeling at Fairfax’s decision to close two of its newspaper printing presses, claiming workers at the site shouldn’t be punished for the media giant’s “bad decisions”.

The Australian Manufacturing Workers’ Union (AMWU) has slammed a discussion paper on the future of skills in Australia’s defence manufacturing industry as “too narrow”.

Deb Group has announced plans to build a $15 million manufacturing facility at Moorebank Business Park in south-west Sydney. The new facility will service the Australian and Southeast Asian markets.

A new CSR Gyprock plant at Yarraville, Victoria, was officially opened in May, securing 160 manufacturing jobs and hiking production by 45%.

With the manufacturing industry struggling and the mining sector continuing to thrive, factory workers in the coal mining community of Muswellbrook, NSW have managed to capitalise on the boom.

Is the surfboard industry yet another victim of the high Australian dollar?

Norsk Hydro has announced plans to close its Kurri Kurri smelting operation, as a result of weak earnings and an uncertain outlook for the future of the business.

Australian-owned brake parts manufacturer Bendix is building a $3.5 million moulding press in Ballarat to cater for growing export demand.

Manufacturing unions are reeling at Qantas’s decision to sack hundreds of maintenance workers, claiming it is ‘short sighted’ and will decimate Australia’s manufacturing and engineering capacities – not to mention the country’s national security.

Australia’s once vibrant automotive parts industry is now under threat.

Corning Cable Systems Australia has begun manufacturing Altos Loose Tube Ribbon Cable at its Clayton, Victoria facilities; the cables are a crucial element of the forthcoming National Broadband Network (NBN) due to be rolled-out across the country.

The Australian Workers Union (AWU) is concerned that the jobs of 250 maintenance personnel at the Richmond, New South Wales RAAF base may be at risk following Federal Budget defence cuts.

Sandvik Mining has opened its $50m Hunter Valley Site facility for the manufacture, assembly and support of surface and underground coal equipment.

Manufacturing industry groups are calling on the government to inject more funds in to the sector, following a tough start to the year with various redundancies and factory closures announced.

Style Limited, a publicly-listed ‘green’ building products manufacturer, has been placed in voluntary administration following a decline in the housing construction market.

Twelve sacked Toyota workers have filed legal action against their former employer, claiming they were made redundant because of their union activities.

Japanese company JFE Steel will provide 150,000 tonnes of steel pipe for Chevron’s Wheatstone LNG project, representing another blow for Australia’s struggling steel industry.

The way Toyota carried out 350 redundancies earlier this week has been called ‘appalling’, with the car-maker hiring security guards to escort the sacked workers offsite in case they resisted their fate.

Toyota Australia has begun shedding workers from its Altona, Victoria manufacturing plant, due to “unprecedented operating conditions”.

Manufacturing employment rose in February 2012, proving that Australia’s manufacturing industry is continuing to fight against the pressures of the two-speed economy and the high Australian dollar.