Parts problem

By Nicole Williams
THE FUTURE is unknown for Dandenong car part manufacturers after Toyota slashed 350 jobs in Victoria last week.
Toyota cut 350 employees from its Altona workforce on Monday, blaming pressure caused by the high Australian dollar.
As workers at the Altona plant come to grips with the announcement, the impact on Dandenong’s automotive part manufacturing industry is still unclear.
Frontline Australasia General Manager Paul Spooner said it was hard to predict what the roll-on effect would be on the exhaust manifolds and accessories manufacturer.
“It’s hard to say that there will be no impact but we have very little information at the moment,” he said.
“We supply parts and accessories so we’re less sensitive.”
Mr Spooner said he expected more information to flow through in the coming days.
Paul DiFelice, Secretary of the Victorian vehicle division of the Australian Manufacturing Workers Union, said it would be a wait and see game for suppliers.
“Most suppliers are working through the impact, if there is any,” he said.
“Some manufactures haven’t diversified (only supply Toyota) but some of the others are lucky because they have other contracts in place and can minimise the impact.”
Mr DiFelice said in the short-term suppliers ‘might let the odd-casual go’ but he didn’t see any threat to the permanent workforce.
However, he stressed that suppliers would still be reviewing the situation and Toyota’s sales forecasts for this year expect production to remain the same.
Toyota’s vehicle manufacturing production levels have fallen from 149,000 in 2007, to 94,000 in 2011, and an expected 95,000 cars in 2012.
Toyota Australia President and CEO, Max Yasuda said the drop in volumes was not temporary as Toyota had hoped.
“What we assumed was a temporary circumstance has turned into a permanent situation,” he said.
“This drop of 36 per cent in just four years shows the scale of our challenges.”
Mr Yasuda said the company would work to strengthen its manufacturing business as well as improve efficiency and cut costs.