GM Holden, Engineers at Odds Over Commodore’s Future

The future of local manufacturing in Australia’s auto industry roars back onto the front pages as the engineers’ union launches a campaign to save production and engineering jobs at GM Holden.

The Association of Professional Engineers, Scientists and Managers, which is negotiating a new contract with General Motors’ Australian subsidiary, hints the jobs will be lost next year.

Engineers want Commodore work to stay in Australia.

Spokesman Chris Walton tells the Australian Broadcasting Corp. that senior GM Holden management confirm it is highly likely the ’14 Commodore will be the last one engineered in Australia.

“Holden is about to get rid of most of their Australian engineers, meaning the car we all love is no longer going to be engineered by Australians for Australian conditions,” the union says in a statement.

The Commodore probably will be engineered in the U.S., China or South Korea after 2014, the statement says.

“Who knows what this might mean for the future of our Commodore. So we are calling on all lovers of this great Australian large family car to help our engineers save their jobs and save our Commodore,” it says.

GM Holden quickly denied it will move design work for the iconic Aussie big car out of the country.

GM Holden Chairman and Managing Director Mike Devereux says the union has got it wrong and is slandering a proud Australian brand.

“The 2014 Commodore is designed and engineered here, but it's not uniquely engineered here,” Devereux tells the ABC. “We get help from other GM business units to make our cars great.

“So for the next-gen Commodore – after the one that we haven't even begun to build yet – it is incredibly premature and illogical to speculate about it, particularly in the context of long-term (contract) negotiations with the union.”

The engineers union says the auto maker has not yet signed off on the overseas move, and it wants state and federal governments to ensure it does not go ahead.

Industry Minister Senator Kim Carr says the federal government believes the Commodore will continue to be designed and produced in Australia but cannot say definitively what will happen after 2014.

In a transcript of an ABC interview with Carr, provided by his office, the minister is asked whether GM Holden has given any indication whether Commodores will continue to be engineered and designed in Australia after 2014.

“We have had indicated to us the investment plans that (GM Holden) has, and we are in the process of discussing with all the companies what their future investment plans are.”

Carr says he agrees with Devereux the Australian government must engage in co-investment if there's to be a future for the domestic auto industry.

“There has been a strongly developed partnership with the car industry in this country, as there have been around the world with governments and their car industry.”

“We do everything from design and engineering through to manufacturing of it, through to after sales services,” Carr says.

“These are highly capital-intensive industries,” he says. “The decisions are made on a long-term basis. They have very, very significant economic and social impacts for the country, and so we will be talking to the industry.”