Holden to Cut 200 Jobs

The economic environment is still difficult for GM's Australian carmaker Holden who recently confirmed that it will cut approximately 200 jobs, most of them currently at the Melbourne headquarters. The company has already established a voluntary redundancy program and Holden spokesman Scott Whiffin told The Age that the company has no firm targets when it comes to the number of people to leave.

"We're offering voluntary packages within some of our functions, primarily office-based functions at our Port Melbourne headquarters," he said.

"Some of these functions have remained more or less untouched over the years as we've gone down to one shift out at our Elizabeth plant, as export and engineering projects have come and gone, and as our domestic markets have contracted."

This is not the first time when Holden turns to cost cutting measures to cope with collapsing demand in the domestic market. The company recently halted production at the Fisherman's Bend production facility, which was manufacturing four-cylinder engines, a decision that led to the layoff of 500 employees. Furthermore, it reduced the working hours at the Adelaide factory, drive.com.au wrote.

Back in April, Holden announced that its Elizabeth plant in South Australia will go for a single shift to resize production to meet the decreasing market demands.

“This is the best way to protect jobs in the current environment and keep Holden in the best possible shape leading into the opening of our second car line and an improvement in global market conditions,” Mark Reuss, former Holden chairman and now working in the US for General Motors, said in April.