Nissan shedding workers.

[Hall]

I should know as I was one and now looking for work. Was working at the casting plant at Dandenong as a casual in the tool room. The budget has been slashed across the whole plant. So first to get the boot is us casuals. Unfortunately the plan wont travel real well with that kind of belt tightening ( read will go to the wall sooner than later ) So another manufacturer begins the slow slide to closing, unless there is a magic injection of cash.
Cheers Hall

[It'sNotWorthComplaining!]

manufacturing in this country has been dying this slow agonising seath for a long time. Wages too high, cosumers buying products overseas, (usually the reason of being ripped off here), so we have own own demise to blame.
Australia will ship out raw materials ( Great Mining Boom) but will become another importer for all our essential needs, including food. Once that happens wait to see how we will ripped off when you become soley dependant on everything. The rip off will really begin. Supermarkerts are doing it to us already, replacing food items with their own brand sourced for China and the like. When the monoploy becomes bigger, there will be no more passing go and collect $200, it will be pay toll of $200.
I have friends in manufacturing, they have all been retrenched.

[101RRS]

I didn't know Nissan still made anything in Aust.

[loanrangie]

I didn't know Nissan still made anything in Aust.

Me either, i thought that when the Dandy plant closed down that was it.

[uninformed]

I guess wages are to high if you dont want any quality of life and also be returning tax dollars for services we all need, use and take for granted.....

but then again, most want to consume at an unsustainable rate, not caring where it was made under what conditions and how good it is....just as long as it fills the "image" requirment

[rangieman]

A cash injection:Rolling: that will only prolong what will eventually happen :cool:

[Disco44]

Me either, i thought that when the Dandy plant closed down that was it.

X3 did they re-open and resourced some parts after the closure, a few years ago now.

[Ralph1Malph]

I guess wages are to high if you dont want any quality of life and also be returning tax dollars for services we all need, use and take for granted.....

but then again, most want to consume at an unsustainable rate, not caring where it was made under what conditions and how good it is....just as long as it fills the "image" requirment

Indeed, I have madly been doing over my accounts and finances to find out whether I qualify for the schools/education giveaway. I really need a bigger flat screen tv in my shed!:D

[Hall]

I didn't know Nissan still made anything in Aust.
It is a bit of a orphan child as far as Nissan is concerned. It is a casting plant that makes gear boxes casings.oil sumps, diff housings etc. Makes gear box casings for Ford and Ssangyong as well. Was a left over after the Clayton plant closed. There are only a few plants world wide with machines as big as this plant has.Which is why it stayed around after the main works closed until now. China as usual is the bad boy and has now plants with machines as big. Plant then moved into the accessories business. Which would have been a bonzer move if the economy was good.
Cheers Hall

[robbotd5]

It's all well and good to say our wages are too high but I like my way of life thanks very much and I will fight for it. I have already been retrenched from a job I held for 15 years in the manufacturing industry (Tubemakers/Onesteel in Newcastle). My family has a long history at that plant starting with my Grandad in 1934. I would have been happy to work out my days there but alas, it was not to happen. I am now in the Aluminium industry and the axe is swinging again. It is the Government to blame here, if they were serious about protecting Australia's future they would stop bickering for over seas brownie points and start to help the economy that they Govern. All this country will be in 15 years time is a big hole in the ground filling up with cheap imported manufactured products from China and India. God help our children. Wake up Australia, If 12 million of us sparked up and told the so called democratic government that No, we dont want this product to be made in Asia when it can be made here then what will they do???. All this country is relying on is raw materials and when that is gone what's next??. This free trade agreement is the cause of it all. Dont get me started.
Regards
Robbo

[101RRS]

It has nothing to do with the Government (everything in this country is the Government's fault) - if we are not competitive then we are just not competitive.

We should only be in areas where we have a competitive advantage over other countries - for us that is no longer in heavy industry. For us it is the tertiary sector - finance, IT, service, high tech etc - and digging dirt out of the ground.

Garry

[Davehoos]

nissan anouced a few months ago that they would be converting the casting plant to manufacture towbars and extras for navara and other nissan products-to plan for the extra costs from the carbon tax over the next few years.they would need to modify the plant and shed short term jobs.

alloy casting is exteamly energy costly and they anounce ahead of time they would be suporting global warming policies.

they planned to install robots to polish alloy bars- chrome etc as hand finished items from asia had proven to be costly interms of warranty and the quality of finish.It may also be a coincidence that asia products sudenly became hard to get[floods] and poor quaity.



Plant then moved into the accessories business. Which would have been a bonzer move if the economy was good.

Has this new plan failed?

[Davehoos]

Plans have been around to keep the hunter valley plants operating.
there is no reason to do sothe alloy goes mostly to france im told and exported back as extrusions.heresay.

I have plenty of friends that have jobs ot the tomago site-[I thought the kurri site had closed].a few of my neighbours got jobs there when they became unemployed in the timber industry.government payed them to employ them.as skill workers they have been trained to supervise contractors and data entry.

I have a lot of freinds that work off site to suport theon going construction and they have told me of cancelled expansion on site including a casting plant and gas plants.If CSG fails to get going the plant will close anyway.

a hypothetical friend has done an audit on what to frieght overseas the shipping costs the decontamination.it all adds up to move.It might be beer talk and who knows..the only reason it has stayed open this long is an election wipout that now looks as if it will occure anyway..

the companies suporting tomago have had to cancel other jobs in the area-most of the time they are the local contractractors to overseas or victorian companies payed less than they would at mining jobs.the power people would love to see them gone as would most NSW electricity buyers..

closing BHP was the best thing for the city-come on get a port working-the tubemakers and commsteel is different as they value add.

my one steel freinds have gone to WA after working around the harbour-all secret hand shake stuff..all they tell me is shortages of scrap steel needed to produce steel,because it shipped to china/india cheeply.

[Hall]

Has this new plan failed?
Not so much as failed, but they were relying on a stronger market. Now all that I have posted so far is only what any one there already knows., or allowed to be known. It is only my opinion based on what facts I have learnt as to which direction this plant is heading. They may sort things out and I hope they do. But they certainly have hard road ahead to survive. All I will say is there are other reasons other than a slack economy.
Cheers Hall

[frantic]

It has nothing to do with the Government (everything in this country is the Government's fault) - if we are not competitive then we are just not competitive.

We should only be in areas where we have a competitive advantage over other countries - for us that is no longer in heavy industry. For us it is the tertiary sector - finance, IT, service, high tech etc - and digging dirt out of the ground.

Garry
There is the problem :mad: You dont really understand the meaning of competitive advantage do you?
Chinese companies get a cash bonus for every tonb of steel they export. BSL was in the top 10 cheapest for cost per ton of slab steel even with china's low wages we where still cheaper but throw in a govt bonus, carbon tax and 110 AUD/ U.S dollar exchange and it is a losing battle.
For power they pay an extremely discounted rate that is produced with very few enviromental controls. One study actually found that 30-50% of the mercury fall out in USA was from chinese power and manufacturing:o
They have no such thing as copyright on anything, and pollution controls in manufacturing are virtually non existant along with controls on chemicals used in making products. How much lead would you like on your kids toys?;) maybe some chemical powder in milk formula thats toxic?And is it just me or does the cherry look identical to a rav 4 with their great wall ute looking like a isuzu/rodeo/colorado with a bit of glad wrap on the grill? FFS if i could copy a design that cost millions to make build it shoddily with a borderline legal safety rating and then would be able to sell it cheaper i would also have " competitive advantage".

[101RRS]

There is the problem :mad: You dont really understand the meaning of competitive advantage do you?


Well yes I do - I will match my economic academic qualifications in the area with most people on here.

Unfortunately in one post on here the full mechanisations of competitive advantage cannot be explained - yes certainly there a range of considerations such as subsidies, artificial cost structures that need to be taken into account - the bottom line when all these are taken into account we are just not competitive (a general statement that may not apply in all scenarios) in manufacturing - some of it is using older practices, some is labour costs, some are other factors. Eg Lightforce lights are a great Aust product - the individual components are all machine made but the lights are assembled and packed by hand - this should be done by machine and reduce costs further. In this example their competitive advantage is the intellectual property in their design not in their construction and assemply. That is why many companies design here and build overseas.

That is also one of the reasons Nissan moved from an Australian manufacturer to an importer of vehicles. It is also one of the reason many Japanese vehicle manufacturer has moved offshore from Japan because of increased manufacturing costs in Japan so it is not only Aust where this is happening.

Garry

[robbotd5]

Well yes I do - I will match my economic academic qualifications in the area with most people on here.

Unfortunately in one post on here the full mechanisations of competitive advantage cannot be explained - yes certainly there a range of considerations such as subsidies, artificial cost structures that need to be taken into account - the bottom line when all these are taken into account we are just not competitive (a general statement that may not apply in all scenarios) in manufacturing - some of it is using older practices, some is labour costs, some are other factors. Eg Lightforce lights are a great Aust product - the individual components are all machine made but the lights are assembled and packed by hand - this should be done by machine and reduce costs further. In this example their competitive advantage is the intellectual property in their design not in their construction and assemply. That is why many companies design here and build overseas.

That is also one of the reasons Nissan moved from an Australian manufacturer to an importer of vehicles. It is also one of the reason many Japanese vehicle manufacturer has moved offshore from Japan because of increased manufacturing costs in Japan so it is not only Aust where this is happening.

Garry
OK. What is the solution then??? What will prevent us from becoming a big hole in the ground???
Regards
Robbo

[PAT303]

If high wages and costs are the problem why isn't German manufacturing going down hill?. Pat

[frantic]

The "bottom line" is in many areas we are still competitive but have been made artificially uncompetitive by other govt.'s subsidies. Please you dont need a degree to see that;).
This results in industries with no choice but to shut down. Anyone remember the case where it was cheaper to buy the completed uniforms from china than the raw uncut material which was going to be sewn by jail inmates in a low risk facility?
China's aim is to own/control(as only manufacturer) as many finished product industries as possible, so the world has no choice who to buy from.Now you have a mass of products that are being copied by chinese companies with a vast majority of the original manufacturers to scared to prosecute them (good luck staun) for fear of the chinese govt's reprisals.
There is not enough money in Oz to enter into a trade subsidy war.

[Davehoos]

since the 80's [my adult life] if i here life is a journey speach at a mindless training course again.Im sick of if you dont have a degree you cant complian about tax dollar waisted.even my wife with a diploma cant get a job.Im sick of the howard government stuffed australia by not waisting more money on universities possitioning themselves as local powers and the teachers being payed bucket loads to be casuals.

The other day i saw an engineering drawing for a bridge.that was requested to find out how much steel to order.
it had a square in the midddle of the page with a straigh line on one axis and a wiggley line on the other.
after several phone calls it was decided it was about that long and to order what they did for the last few brigdes as they can always use whats left over.combined with no surveyers being used as the bridge is miles from its site on the map.

bridge was finished in record timeand works like all the others before.

[SuperMono]

If you want manufacturing, value adding and food production and processing in Australia, do this: Read the label and buy in season.

Simple actions and buying patterns of consumers drive Australian industry and content far more effectively than regulation or complaining do.

I buy a few things directly from overseas, but I rarely buy with price as my first or only consideration. When it comes to food, I read ever label and check the source for 'fresh' food.

[Davehoos]

Grandcruiser Campervan Reviews Australia www.grandcruiser.com.au (http://www.productreview.com.au/p/grandcruiser.html)

if you read from the first review you notice a theme.
i worked near one of the original factory in wicham and we did odd jobs for dave.

at first they made things on site then complained about the quality of work they bought in from australian suppliers.some of the kitchens i saw was horrid and was returned a few time to get it to fit..


a year or more i saw a TV news item that they had returned to australia after issues overseas with chinese flat packs.

you can read the reviews...other newcastle caravan companies cant produce enough for the local market as it is.

[sashadidi]

If high wages and costs are the problem why isn't German manufacturing going down hill?. Pat

Very simply put Europe is a big close market(frieght wise etc) , common currency and the germans lend the likes of Greece, Portugal, Spain etc the Euros on bonds cheaply so they can buy German goods!!!!!, only fault in the "scheme" is when the likes of Greece etc cannot pay back the money (for any number of reasons) and also stop buying german goods, a kind of Ponzi scheme overall which is falling apart as we all can see and why Germany is resisting lending "cheap" Euros to the countries who are basically not paying their way.
German is losing manufacturing to Eastern Europe like Poland , Czech and even in Russia (near Moscow)where my wifes family lives there are German factories setting up because of reduced labour costs etc as well.
Everybody is experiencing problems in Western Europe . Germany at present has less problems but potentionally with their European export markets changing if some countries leave the Eurozone and get their own money they will have more problems exporting goods priced in Euros to those who have there own new devalued currencies.