Manufacturing News

Union claims 20 David Brown employees may lose jobs

Gear and gearboxes manufacturer David Brown Industries may make 20 of its employees redundant, according to the Australian Manufacturing Workers Union (AMWU).

AMWU Wollongong industrial officer John Stewart told the Illawarra Mercury the company has already confirmed that 11 workers will finish up on December 13 and more may follow.

Five to 10 workers lost their jobs earlier in the year and, according to Stewart, the job losses reflect the slowdown in the mining sector.

‘‘They’re tied to the mining industry…companies like BHP Billiton and Rio Tinto are no longer ordering units…industry companies like David Brown Gear are having to change their business models away from new builds to more care and maintenance work,’’ Stewart said.

 ‘‘It’s never great in these sort of situations, it’s very difficult to deal with redundancies but to deal with it in the environment we’re in the Illawarra, it’s very difficult for everyone involved.

‘‘We’re in ongoing discussions with the company.’’

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