Ford and Mazda say their Thai joint venture will invest more than $US500 million ($A560.73 million) in a new small car production plant - the largest foreign investment in Thailand since last September's coup.
The investment, split evenly between Ford and Mazda, adds a new dimension to manufacturing now focused on pickup trucks. It will increase the production capacity at the AutoAlliance Thailand joint venture plant to 275,000 vehicles from 175,000, the companies said in a joint statement.
For the full story go to - http://www.smh.com.au/news/World/Ford-Mazda-show-confidence-in-Thailand/2007/10/09/1191695910281.html
PHIL CLEARY: You can't live off footy alone
THERE'S nothing like a premiership to bring joy to a football city. And when it's your first in 44 years it's no surprise the people of Geelong have celebrated long and hard. Unfortunately, for thousands of workers in Geelong there's more to life than a premiership.
``The grand final was really exciting but every time I saw the Ford logo on the jumper and the signage on the fence I thought about the job losses at the Ford plant. A premiership is great but it doesn't put food on the table,'' says Ford worker Jim Kontogeorgis.
Born in Geelong in 1969 to an Australian-born mother and a Greek father, who arrived in Geelong in time to see the Cats win the 1963 flag, Jim has worked at Ford for 20 years.
Like his dad, he's an avid Cats supporter. Married with three children, all below six years of age, Jim can't afford to be one of the 600 workers who'll lose their jobs at Ford in 2010. Two weeks before the grand final, he read in disbelief of Ford's decision to abandon the annual Christmas party.
``It's the right business decision to cancel the party,' said Ford spokesman Edward Finn. It didn't seem to matter to Mr Finn that the Christmas party pre-dated Geelong's 1963 flag or that the decision to scrap it came a mere three months after Ford told employees about the 600 job cuts.
It isn't just Geelong's Ford workers facing an uncertain future. The 100 people at Bekaert's steel plant and the 50 workers at Coghlan and Russell's engineering plant _ who also lost their entitlements _ are but the tip of the unemployment iceberg. Alcoa is struggling and the BHP wire mill will make a decision later this year about its future. The list of jobs lost in the manufacturing sector goes on and on.
When Cameron Ling declared there'd be no more council rates in Geelong and everyone could take the rest of the week off work during his tenure as mayor for a day there was laughter all round. Who wouldn't laugh?
If only Cameron's interest in the plight of residents was enough to convince the big wheels at Ford to change their mind on the Christmas party and the job cuts. If only the winning of a premiership created secure, long-term employment for the people of Geelong.
Through my work with the ABC, telecasting VFL football, I've seen how important football is to Geelong. It was because of the Geelong people that the VFL had its biggest grand final crowd _ 14,000 people _ in nearly 20 years. Geelong supporters brought levels of passion to the lead-up finals at Port and to the grand final that equalled anything I'd seen in the days when Port Melbourne was king of the VFA.
It will be terrible if this premiership induces people to ignore the plight of workers in Geelong. There's obviously enough money in Geelong to sustain a successful football club and no-one should under-estimate the work Frank Costa and his board has done to bring economic security to the club.
But with the premiership secure, maybe it's time to think about the economic security of the working people who've sustained the Geelong Football Club in the difficult times. After all, you can't live off football alone.
Phil Cleary manages communications with the Electrical Trades Union http://www.etu.asn.au/ _ he is former independent federal politician and Coburg VFA premiership player and coach.
Source: Geelong Advertiser - http://www.geelongadvertiser.com.au/article/2007/10/11/7750_opinion.html
More: - Ford worker interview video with Phil Cleary - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FcDiC_yL9ss
``The grand final was really exciting but every time I saw the Ford logo on the jumper and the signage on the fence I thought about the job losses at the Ford plant. A premiership is great but it doesn't put food on the table,'' says Ford worker Jim Kontogeorgis.
Born in Geelong in 1969 to an Australian-born mother and a Greek father, who arrived in Geelong in time to see the Cats win the 1963 flag, Jim has worked at Ford for 20 years.
Like his dad, he's an avid Cats supporter. Married with three children, all below six years of age, Jim can't afford to be one of the 600 workers who'll lose their jobs at Ford in 2010. Two weeks before the grand final, he read in disbelief of Ford's decision to abandon the annual Christmas party.
``It's the right business decision to cancel the party,' said Ford spokesman Edward Finn. It didn't seem to matter to Mr Finn that the Christmas party pre-dated Geelong's 1963 flag or that the decision to scrap it came a mere three months after Ford told employees about the 600 job cuts.
It isn't just Geelong's Ford workers facing an uncertain future. The 100 people at Bekaert's steel plant and the 50 workers at Coghlan and Russell's engineering plant _ who also lost their entitlements _ are but the tip of the unemployment iceberg. Alcoa is struggling and the BHP wire mill will make a decision later this year about its future. The list of jobs lost in the manufacturing sector goes on and on.
When Cameron Ling declared there'd be no more council rates in Geelong and everyone could take the rest of the week off work during his tenure as mayor for a day there was laughter all round. Who wouldn't laugh?
If only Cameron's interest in the plight of residents was enough to convince the big wheels at Ford to change their mind on the Christmas party and the job cuts. If only the winning of a premiership created secure, long-term employment for the people of Geelong.
Through my work with the ABC, telecasting VFL football, I've seen how important football is to Geelong. It was because of the Geelong people that the VFL had its biggest grand final crowd _ 14,000 people _ in nearly 20 years. Geelong supporters brought levels of passion to the lead-up finals at Port and to the grand final that equalled anything I'd seen in the days when Port Melbourne was king of the VFA.
It will be terrible if this premiership induces people to ignore the plight of workers in Geelong. There's obviously enough money in Geelong to sustain a successful football club and no-one should under-estimate the work Frank Costa and his board has done to bring economic security to the club.
But with the premiership secure, maybe it's time to think about the economic security of the working people who've sustained the Geelong Football Club in the difficult times. After all, you can't live off football alone.
Phil Cleary manages communications with the Electrical Trades Union http://www.etu.asn.au/ _ he is former independent federal politician and Coburg VFA premiership player and coach.
Source: Geelong Advertiser - http://www.geelongadvertiser.com.au/article/2007/10/11/7750_opinion.html
More: - Ford worker interview video with Phil Cleary - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FcDiC_yL9ss
Call for support as more Geelong jobs axed
The Australian Manufacturing Workers Union is calling for greater state and federal support for Geelong, as more companies scale back their operations.
Alcoa Australia Rolled Products has today announced it will cut 56 jobs at its Point Henry site as part of a company restructure.
Earlier this month, car manufacturer Ford told 600 workers they would lose their jobs when its engine plant closes.
The AMWU says the $24 million government fund to absorb the job losses is inadequate.
The Union's State Secretary, Steven Dargavel, says the package needs to be in the order of $200 million.
"We've had a number of companies announce significant redundancies in the Geelong area, after the redundancies originating from Ford," he said.
"We certainly are concerned that the Federal Government is not directing sufficient support to the manufacturing industry and to supporting workers who are suffering this kind of dislocation," he said.
"We've seen extraordinary announcements of support for the farming community and nothing like that for blue collar workers in areas like Geelong," Mr Dargavel said.
"Clearly this package is not sufficient to assist the local community to adjust to the sorts of shocks it's facing now," he said.
Source: Rachael Brown, ABC - http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2007/09/27/2045307.htm
For more on this story - http://www.amwu.asn.au/default.asp?action=LoadArticle&ID=3036 http://www.geelongadvertiser.com.au/article/2007/09/28/7294_news.html
Alcoa Australia Rolled Products has today announced it will cut 56 jobs at its Point Henry site as part of a company restructure.
Earlier this month, car manufacturer Ford told 600 workers they would lose their jobs when its engine plant closes.
The AMWU says the $24 million government fund to absorb the job losses is inadequate.
The Union's State Secretary, Steven Dargavel, says the package needs to be in the order of $200 million.
"We've had a number of companies announce significant redundancies in the Geelong area, after the redundancies originating from Ford," he said.
"We certainly are concerned that the Federal Government is not directing sufficient support to the manufacturing industry and to supporting workers who are suffering this kind of dislocation," he said.
"We've seen extraordinary announcements of support for the farming community and nothing like that for blue collar workers in areas like Geelong," Mr Dargavel said.
"Clearly this package is not sufficient to assist the local community to adjust to the sorts of shocks it's facing now," he said.
Source: Rachael Brown, ABC - http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2007/09/27/2045307.htm
For more on this story - http://www.amwu.asn.au/default.asp?action=LoadArticle&ID=3036 http://www.geelongadvertiser.com.au/article/2007/09/28/7294_news.html
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