Now that GM made their survival plan public, which includes the aforementioned axing of the Pontiac brand, Holden have lost an important export market.
Anticipating some protests from Australian workers, Holden spokesman Scott Whiffin was quick to make assurances.
“G8s are assembled at our plant at Elizabeth where we have been modifying our production volumes and we will continue to do so. Notwithstanding the fact that this has only just been announced, we don't envisage there will be any job losses at Elizabeth as a result of this decision," he was quoted as saying by drive.com.au.
While there will be some changes as a result of GM focusing on its other brands, Chevrolet, Cadillac, Buick and GMC, the company also added that all 3,000 jobs will be retained. On the unpleasant side, Holden has already announced that it will switch to a single shift starting May the 4th at its Elizabeth plant in South Australia. The move is also meant on resizing production levels to meet current market demands, ahead of the introduction of a new fuel efficient four-cylinder vehicle in 2010. The new production output of the Australian plant is set at 310 vehicles/day.
One of the reasons why Holden is not sacking its people could be related to a possible massive export to the US of up to 40,000 Chevrolet-badged Commodore police vehicles, goauto.com reported. The US market could be soon followed by Canada, the UK and the Middle East.
If this plan follows through, Holden's Commodore will most likely replace Ford’s Crown Victoria as the vehicle of choice for many US police departments.
With this being said, please excuse us, we have to get to back to our barbie.
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