Ford may stand down 4000 Aussie workers

[elgt146]

Latest news.

http://news.ninemsn.com.au/article.aspx?id=87714

[Mr_4.0]

not im stamping plant they wont

[vztrt]

This happened twice last year, and will continue as these companies go down.

[bob^]

There was nothing unusual at work today...except for some blokes with buckets at the gates asking for donations for the workers of the place that closed down.
Production was as normal.

Mr 4.0, you work in stamping? where abouts?

[Gobes32]

Originally Posted by bob^

Mr 4.0, you work in stamping? where abouts?

He doesn't do any work for ford, he is merely employed by them. ha ha

[Schlimmeh]

Very sad about the components companies - I hope Ford didn't screw them too hard on the price they pay them for the components.

[Cruise]

Originally Posted by Schlimmeh

Very sad about the components companies - I hope Ford didn't screw them too hard on the price they pay them for the components.

Thats always the case but not only ford holdens, mitsus and toyota all screw australain companies for such low prices they keep going bust

[Racecraft]

Originally Posted by Cruise Control

Thats always the case but not only ford holdens, mitsus and toyota all screw australain companies for such low prices they keep going bust

Rubbish .. it is called trading in a competitive market sector.. If they have excessive overheads or poor management and cannot sustain financial viability they SHOULD not manufacture and sell products for such a low price.. Alot of executives and upper management have minimal social conscense and living with false hope of trading your way out of debt is a tragedy to the workers and employees.
Being in business is about finding a target market and meeting the requirements, if you can't match the market prices look at your business first, don't blame your customers..

[Nashy86]

Originally Posted by Cruise Control

Thats always the case but not only ford holdens, mitsus and toyota all screw australain companies for such low prices they keep going bust

local manufacturers need to get these component costs down to stay competitive with other markets

parts and labor are much cheaper in china etc. Last year when i was working at ford we had a guy go to china to see their plant, he brought back footage of their solution to a specific production problem we were working on (can't say what exactly) but their OH&S standards are so much slacker and wages are lower than here that they had 10 people doing the job that 2 people and over a million dollars of machinery will do in Australia, and they will come out on top because the machinery will eventually need maintenance/upgrading. Its the same for component manufacturers, hence Australian suppliers are more expensive.

Make a falcon in china and it could cost half as much
I'm not saying its good or right, but its reality IMO

[whiskieboy]

Originally Posted by Schlimmeh

Very sad about the components companies - I hope Ford didn't screw them too hard on the price they pay them for the components.

Actually its a known fact that this company overcharged FORD for a long time and owe them huge amounts of money over and above what they owe there employees.

[csv8]

FORD sales are poor, this won't help.

[SpoolMan]

ANOTHER STORY FROM GO AUTO

Dispute halts V8 Falcon production and could force a full shutdown at Ford tomorrow


FORD Australia stopped building V8 Falcons on Monday of this week and is expected to cease Falcon and Territory production completely and indefinitely from tomorrow following the failure of a meeting to shore up a cash-strapped Victoria auto parts company yesterday.

Meetings between the administrator of vehicle components supplier Coghlan and Russell Engineering and its creditors (including 49 staff stood down last week, their union representatives and major customers Ford and Delphi) will continue.

However, a resolution is not expected in time to prevent Ford’s Broadmeadows assembly plant closing until further notice from Thursday.

"At this stage we've run out of one particular part for our V8 engines, so our V8s have gone into restriction in terms of production," Ford spokeswoman Sinead McAlary told GoAuto yesterday.

"We are still working through it, but it looks like we’ll be running out of six or seven other parts that we need across the range by close of business Wednesday (today).

"So our production could well be affected as from Thursday – which means we’ll be looking at plant stand-downs," said Ms McAlary, who added that Coghlan & Russell is yet to advise how many components remained in stock.

Neither Mitsubishi’s Tonsley Park production facility in Adelaide nor Toyota Australia’s Altona assembly plant in Melbourne will be affected. It’s understood production at GM Holden’s Elizabeth (SA) factory may also be affected, but the company did not return GoAuto’s calls on Tuesday.

A proposal by both Ford and major General Motors supplier Delphi - the debt-ridden factory’s two biggest clients - to jointly inject enough capital to continue production for 60 days was rejected on Tuesday morning by workers, who later yesterday agreed not to return to work while they still face the loss of $521,000 in entitlements, including eight months of unpaid superannuation.

According to the Australian Manufacturing Workers Union, the workers are owed a total of about $1.5 million, including redundancy payments, but that they would not be entitled to help from the Federal Government's entitlement scheme GEERS because they had not been made redundant.

It’s believed the situation has been further complicated by an overpayment claim made against Coghlan & Russell Engineering by Ford, which entered into a payment plan with the company six months ago when it emerged Ford had overpaid the factory by about $2.5 million.

GoAuto understands that Ford and Delphi had together offered almost one million dollars to keep the company afloat, in addition to the $1.4 million Coghlan & Russell still owes Ford. But Ford says it will not fulfill the workers’ entitlement obligations of C&R or other suppliers because of the industry precedent this would set.

Ms McAlary said the Ford/Delphi plan would have guaranteed that the company’s doors stayed open for two months while it examined its restructuring options - and while Ford and Delphi explored its alternatives, including the possibility of retrofitting the unavailable components or sourcing them from other local suppliers. But she stressed neither scenario would be easy.

The Geelong company had supplied Ford with 37 different vehicle parts, including a V8 engine damper, but rising debts following slower sales of Ford’s large Australian-built models saw the firm cease production and axe its workforce last week.

Administrator PPB was appointed last Tuesday and workers have occupied the factory with its permission since then.

The Ford shutdown is the latest crisis to hit Victoria’s beleaguered car industry, which saw Holden and Ford axe 200 and 640 jobs at their Port Melbourne and Broadmeadows plants respectively late last year.

Production of both Falcon and Territory, and Holden’s new VE Commodore, was also threatened last August, when Braeside parts maker Ajax Engineered Fasteners went into liquidation owing 189 workers an estimated $12 million in entitlements.

Ajax’s future, as well as the continuation of production at both Ford and Holden, was rescued at the 11th hour by major Ajax customers including Big Four brake supplier PBR, which agreed to underwrite the Melbourne company for six months.


By MARTON PETTENDY 18 April 2007

[exrtnz]

Yeah the ford company is in a bit of a slide, but its worse over at GM , it'll all come right given time.

[sbutler]

After reading that, I wonder if it would be better for all the car componys & who ever else that use there parts to pool together & buy out the compony? Then they would have control & this sort of thing wouldnt happen again.
Just a thought...

[Nashy86]

Originally Posted by sbutler

After reading that, I wonder if it would be better for all the car componys & who ever else that use there parts to pool together & buy out the compony? Then they would have control & this sort of thing wouldnt happen again.
Just a thought...

In my opinion this would be a bad move because then Ford/Holden/whoever else buys in on it are responsible for everything like machinery costs, workers payouts, insurance etc.etc.

I'm fairly sure that in the past all parts like this were made in-house, but the costs of maintaining the facilities to make every little part were much greater than buying from a company that specializes in it, and makes larger quantities for many users. I think buying out the failing company would be a backwards step in this regard.

Also, what happens with the next company? Their management and union will expect Ford/Holden/whoever to bail them out again, "you did it for those guys, do it for us"

[Smoke Pursuit]

Originally Posted by sbutler

After reading that, I wonder if it would be better for all the car componys & who ever else that use there parts to pool together & buy out the compony? Then they would have control & this sort of thing wouldnt happen again.
Just a thought...

Not sure why they dont just manufacture the parts themselves if its getting this hard. As for buying it out in a joint venture there would be issues there to.

There are a few things that concern me tho,

A) the fact Ford over paid the company by 2.5 Million (what the ****).
B) the fact that the company's management let employee entitlements get that out of control.

They obviously know very little about running a business.

[BLDNUT01]

Here,s a good sum up of whats going on
http://www.drive.com.au/Editorial/Ar...rticleId=38067

http://www.drive.com.au/Editorial/Ar...rticleId=38081

[thefargo]

assuming all 4000 workers have a partner and 2 kids. thats 16000 people suffering because of these cuts. money in these households will be tight, non-essential spending probably drop to 0. morgages hard to maintain, local businesses suffering due to less money in the economy. more stress and relationship counselling needed.
keep your eyes open for cheap second hand cars and a drop in housing prices in vic.

[octanebfgt2]

This is the latest I have been able to find on this. Deal has been struck but final vote on Monday

http://www.abc.net.au/news/newsitems...4/s1902887.htm

[Bud Bud]

Here is an update.

This situation is not "politically desirable" and so I can't imagine that the Federal Gov would stand by and let Ford close even for a few days, as this would have an adverse effect on the run up to the next election, after all right now, they need as much help as they can get at the moment. I think that this would only play into the Union and ultimately Labours hands.

23/04/2007 - Workers at a Victorian car parts manufacturer have the weekend to think about a $500,000 rescue package put forward by car maker Ford, which is trying to avoid standing down its own staff.

Parts supplier Coghlan and Russell went into administration on Wednesday last week and 49 of its Geelong staff were stood down without pay.

Coghlan and Russell's employees, who are chasing $1.85 million in entitlements, were set to vote on Friday on whether to accept a Ford rescue package worth more than $500,000 and return to work.

The company supplies components, including engine mounts, for Ford, which may be forced to stand down workers if parts supplies dry up.

Australian Manufacturing Workers Union (AMWU) assistant Victorian secretary Steve Dargavel said the workers have been given the weekend to think about an amended rescue package.

It follows talks on Friday between the business, its employees, administrators and unions.

Dargavel said Coghlan and Russell's workers would vote at a meeting on Monday morning on whether to accept the package.

The workers have not been asked to work prior to Monday. Instead the administrator has written to the employees at Coghlan and Russell Engineering asking them to consider a rescue package before attending Monday's meeting, he said.

"The employees are seeking the payment of their entitlements and demanding the federal government investigate the company's directors over allegations of breaches of the corporations law," Dargavel said.

"These 49 workers have been put in an impossible position by a company they have worked at for many years," he said.

Car manufacturer Ford said it would be able to keep most of its workers on until Monday, despite the delay while the employees at the parts supplier decide whether to accept the rescue package.

Ford spokeswoman Sinead McAlary said the company had reorganised its operations so it could keep all but 400 of its own workers on until Monday, regardless of whether Coghlan and Russell employees returned to work.

However, there was no guaranteed work for them beyond Monday, she said.

It had earlier been feared about 3,500 Ford workers would be stood down this afternoon.

The 400 affected workers at Ford's engine plant in Geelong would be stood down without pay at the end of their shift on Friday, but other employees had been advised to go to work on Monday.

"We remain hopeful that the Coghlan and Russell employees will return to work on Monday morning, as they are being recommended to do by the administrator," McAlary said.

"If they choose not to, our ability to continue production at Broadmeadows and our other Geelong operations is severely compromised."

Source: AAP NewsWire

[Nostalgia]

Coghlan Russell Engineering is back in production as of this morning.

[billyb35]

It is not good to see any company in financial trouble let alone one which has such a cultural and historical roots in this country.

Standing down everyday workers is even worse but an unfortunate consequence of big business and free market etc. I don't see how, in a pure sense, this is a political issue other than for the point raised above or even what the government could do to intervene.

Good thing that the Liberal government implemented the GEERS scheme after Ansett collapse which generally protects employee entitlements in the event of liquidation/insolvency.

[agony]

Originally Posted by EAadam

Coghlan Russell Engineering is back in production as of this morning.

Good to see but we will see how long it lasts.

[Bossxr8]

Are the company directors going to be held accountable for running the place into the ground and neglecting to pay super to employees. I'd assume not.

[Cobra]

Originally Posted by agony

Good to see but we will see how long it lasts.

Or how long the employess last there. I couldn't imagine there'd be one employee not looking for work elsewhere.

[vztrt]

They have 60 days, this will give ford some time to find another supplier.