Harley-Davidson to close New Castalloy Adelaide factory, with 120 jobs to go   

ABC News
January 31 2018

An Adelaide manufacturer of Harley-Davidson wheel rims will close, impacting about 120 local workers.   

New Castalloy at North Plympton — which in an unrelated matter is at the centre of a renewed search for the Beaumont children — will shut down in just over a year.

The Australian Workers Union said 120 jobs would be lost.   

"Apparently this has to do with sales of large motorcycles and ongoing demand for the product that is produced at the North Plympton site," union official Peter Lamps told the ABC.

"This is not about competitiveness or cost issues. Harley-Davidson has made it abundantly clear to us that this has been more of a product mix and product demand issue.

    "Certainly the workers and the way they operate down there has nothing to do with the decision that has been made."

Harley-Davidson is closing two operations — the other in Kansas — after its motorcycle shipments to dealers fell to their lowest level in six years.

It is making plans for new models in an effort to reverse the decline.
Workers told at end of shifts

Mr Lamps said workers at the Adelaide site received the news as they ended their shifts late yesterday, and he was making arrangements to visit the factory on Thursday, because the workers have today off.

"Part of my visit on-site tomorrow will be to make sure all of those workers' entitlements, when redundancies do occur, will be met in full," he said.

He said there might be some flow-on impact to materials suppliers to the Australian operation, but the bigger concern was the looming loss of more Australian manufacturing skills.

"I think the broader aspect is these highly-skilled jobs, making these niche products [will go]," he said.

"[It is concerning] if we pride ourselves on being a country that can make things rather than just produce a raw product and have that finished elsewhere."   

Castalloy was facing closure back in 2011 until Harley-Davidson came to its financial rescue, then a rent-free deal for the foundry was negotiated two years later.

Minister for Manufacturing and Innovation Kyam Maher said

"The State Government had provided rent relief to New Castalloy in the past and had made New Castalloy last year formally aware that we were committed to continuing that so there's nothing the State Government could have done further, the company's told us, to help New Castalloy stay open," he said.

"We're going to make sure we stand shoulder to shoulder with these workers.

"We're going to have government officials down with the union, the Australian Workers Union, at the site tomorrow, offering the same level of support we provided to workers in the auto industry to make sure workers have the best possible chance to retrain, to get career advice and to access employment services.”

The factory site will be searched in the coming weeks for the remains of the Beaumont children, who disappeared from an Adelaide beach on Australia Day 1966.

Sir lastnail wrote on Jan 31^st, 2018 at 5:44pm:


I guess the Kansas closure was their fault as well. Nothing to do with sales at all.

Sir lastnail wrote on Jan 31^st, 2018 at 5:44pm:

whiteknight

Its a bit off a nuff nuff story ...... Harley Davidsons are more fashion then practical motor bikes and go in and out of trend. They can make parts where ever they like, they don't have to guarantee jobs either here or in the US or anywhere.

President Elect, The Mechanic wrote on Jan 31^st, 2018 at 6:09pm:

A good start would be lower the company tax rate to align with competing countries, making HD parts should be a boutique industry we could do very well in but don't tell BS Shorten.

Bobby. wrote on Jan 31^st, 2018 at 7:46pm:

And Keeping high company takes rates does what ?
People like you never offer a counter view just bleat rubbish.

Bobby. wrote on Jan 31^st, 2018 at 7:51pm:


Company tax is a strangler of productivity and hence an albatross on real wages growth. You have things arse a peeky.

Just a backdoor tax on wages anyway with double the deadweight loss.

Sir lastnail wrote on Jan 31^st, 2018 at 8:13pm:



Like steel and aluminium manufacturing?

Bobby. wrote on Jan 31^st, 2018 at 8:24pm:


Capital productivity has been falling like a stone for nigh on twenty years. Keep taxing it all you want. Just stop whinging when your wages go backwards.

lee wrote on Jan 31^st, 2018 at 5:56pm:

no...  its all the Conservatives fault LW and RW Conservatives...  nothing to do with sales, the bottom line or cheaper labour overseas etc, etc, etc...

Climate Change...  all the Conservatives Fault.

Inflation Conservatives fault.

Stagnant wage growth Conservatives fault...

Pregnant women Conservatives fault...

The list is practically endless.

Grendel wrote on Jan 31^st, 2018 at 10:39pm:


So what have the conservatives got to offer the battler ?

Trickle down effect ? LOL

An interesting different "politically correct" view from Boris.

https://m.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=2013321945622501&id=100008341441937


But any manufacturer faced with a decision to cut costs would exit SA at a fast pace mainly due to the excessively high costs and unreliable and unstable SA power supply.

And having to have a whopping great diesel in the back shed doesn't help either.

And the risk of having complex equipment damaged by the erratic unstable shoddy Secondary Power renewable rubbish SA power supply holds the exit door open too.

And being constantly harassed by hostile belligerent corrupt Commo union thugs being waved on by little squidgy Bull S. really helps to.

And Trumpy dropping company taxes thru the floor which is getting even a Chinese solar panel company moving to USA doesn't help either.

And the glerky little union puppet Bull S. has the "solution" with his technically unmanageable 50% taxpayer funded unreliable unstable renewable rubbish.

crocodile wrote on Jan 31^st, 2018 at 8:06pm:

The lack of logic is astounding, no point having a high company tax rate if business is slowing down that is diminishing returns. We need to be at least globally competitive ..... lefties seem to forget this country was built on foreign investment.

Sir lastnail wrote on Jan 31^st, 2018 at 10:52pm:

LOL
You are clueless
keep pumping out the propaganda...

bugger YOUR ALL DICKS  HARLY DAVISION ANNOUNCED LAST YEAR IT WILL CLOSE TWO PLANTS ONE IN THE US AND ONE IN AUSTRALIA BECAUSE THE HD BIKES ARE OUT OF VOUGE AT THE MOMENT!

greggerypeccary wrote on Jan 31^st, 2018 at 7:41pm:


You like little tools don't you little pecca......especially those little sausages......

Grebdel,

you are correct in what you say but WELFARE covers a lot more than just the Centrelink wage with things such as Medicare, NDIS, and a whole host of other lurks and perks that the ISLAMICS in particular exploit shamelessly.

What about that sheila on Australia Day that wants to burn down Australia - well she gets an allowance which amounts to WELFARE.

And when the Greenies employ their Rent A Crowds in their HATE Australia protests who pays for this - the taxpayers I reckon.

and WELFARE is a HORRENDOUS UNSUSTAINABLE EXPENSE!!!!




Budget 2017: Welfare is the elephant, whale and woolly mammoth in the room
by David Coleman May 1 2017 at 11:00 PM Updated May 1 2017 at 11:00 PM


Even a small improvement in efficiency of welfare could yield big savings for the government. Erin Jonasson

So – the budget. It comes at a time when the economic consensus of recent decades is under attack. Shallow economic populism is on the march. Politicians talk about companies as if they are evildoers that need to be constrained – rather than job creators that employ close to 90 per cent of us. Tax increases are routinely described as "savings" – rather than laws that force people to pay more money. Much of our public debate is dominated by a vacuous assumption that everything would be OK – if only the government had more money.

Best to get back to basics. We can't succeed without economic growth. Economic growth doesn't just exist, it has to be earned. Government's economic role is limited, but important: create good conditions for investment, keep tax to a minimum, and don't make a mess of public finances. It doesn't sound that hard – but look at western Europe, where government ineptitude has turned once great economies into places of despair.

Spending is all about welfare

The budget is about revenue and spending – and spending is all about welfare. It is massive, and dwarfs everything else. According to December's MYEFO statement, welfare spending will represent more than 40 per cent of real federal expenditure in 2016-17. It's more than double what we spend on health, about five times what we spend on education, and about six times what we spend on defence.

Big increases in welfare spending are forecast, with it reaching $185 billion by 2019-20. By that point it will be more than 42 per cent of real federal expenditure. If you exclude interest payments by government, welfare spending will be more than 44 per cent of real expenses by 2019-20.

Welfare spending isn't just the elephant in the room: it's the elephant, the whale, and the woolly mammoth. According to the OECD, Australia's spending on social programs increased from 10 per cent of GDP in 1980 to 19 per cent in 2016 – almost doubling as a proportion of the economy. That's a pretty extraordinary statistic, and it's forecast to increase even further.

1 per cent goes a long way

It goes without saying that we should support those in genuine need through the social welfare system. But the need must be genuine. If 1 per cent of the welfare budget could be saved through better compliance measures, that would be $7 billion over the forward estimates. A 2 per cent saving would be $14 billion – far greater than any saving that could conceivably be achieved in any other area of government.

So welfare compliance initiatives that aim to identify fraud and other errors in the system are critical. The spending is so immense that recouping even a tiny proportion makes a substantial difference to overall expenditure.

We also need to take a hard look at the federal bureaucracy. Mission creep affects all organisations, but none more than government. We need to constantly ask whether the government is structured as efficiently as it should be. Do we really need every single department that we currently have? I've argued before that we need to look at ways to consolidate the federal bureaucracy, and continue to believe that this should be an area of focus.

Let's talk revenue

Then there is the other side: revenue.

December's MYEFO statement says that government revenue will increase by an average annual rate of 6.9 per cent between 2016-17 and 2019-20. It's not as much as it sounds, because you have to factor in the impact of inflation and an increasing population. But how many businesses would be unhappy with a 6.9 per cent annual revenue growth rate? Not many. So when you hear the inevitable calls for tax increases described with faux sincerity as "responsible savings", keep that in mind. Government revenue is actually forecast to grow at about 7 per cent per year. We don't need more revenue – we just need to live within our means.

It's an edgy world at present, and we need to keep our heads. Things that have always been true are still true. Governments shouldn't spend more than they receive; tax increases hurt economies; business not government is the real generator of national wealth. These realities matter little to the glib populist. But for a responsible government at budget time, they should be guiding lights.

http://www.afr.com/opinion/columnists/budget-2017-welfare-is-the-elephant-whale-...

Fuzzball wrote on Feb 1^st, 2018 at 8:44am:


Is that why I find myself attracted to you?

Ah!

greggerypeccary wrote on Feb 1^st, 2018 at 12:58pm:


Ha Hah........so you are.....

Actually greggy only likes peach fuzz on parts.

Fuzzball wrote on Feb 1^st, 2018 at 1:10pm:


Some are smellier, too.

Fuzzball wrote on Feb 1^st, 2018 at 1:15pm:


Some smellier, and bigger, than others.

bwood1946 wrote on Feb 1^st, 2018 at 8:27am:


The dopey dim witted lefties prefer companies going broke they think companies that don't make a profit should stay in business

Its time wrote on Feb 1^st, 2018 at 2:50pm:


NO ones buying them in AMERyou tosser, Sale here are ok you are a real dick

Its time wrote on Feb 1^st, 2018 at 2:50pm:


If nobody was buying Harleys the company would go bust and close down, they're not closing down so we can say you're posting bullshit again

http://www.mcnews.com.au/2017-australian-motorcycle-sales-figures-road/

Sales down down down

Motorcycle, all-terrain vehicle (ATV) and scooter sales have risen almost one per cent this year, with almost 80,000 sold in Australia between January and September.

The 79,949 sales are 0.8 per cent higher than in the same period last year.

Releasing the motorcycle, ATV and scooter sales figures for the period 1 January to 30 September 2013, Federal Chamber of Automotive Industries (FCAI) Chief Executive Tony Weber said road motorcycle sales remained steady, increasing by 0.8 per cent (31,401 sold); however off-road motorcycles were up by 10.7 per cent (26,628 sold).

ATV and scooter sales decreased 7.5 and 11.9 per cent, respectively, compared to the same period in 2012 - 14,968 ATVs and 6,952 scooters sold.

"Honda led sales of road motorcycles and ATVs for the period. Yamaha led off-road motorcycle sales and Piaggio led scooter sales," Mr Weber said.

Honda sold 6,299 new motorcycles, followed by Harley-Davidson with 5,779 and Kawasaki with 5,211. Victory Motorcycles continued its steady progress towards increased market share, selling 364 units—a 12.7 per cent increase on the same period in 2012.

Yamaha increased their sales of off-road motorcycles by 9 per cent (7,811 sold) compared to the same period last year. They were followed by Honda, who saw steady growth (13.5 per cent) with 6,356 units sold. KTM and Suzuki came third and fourth, respectively, in the off-road segment with 4,499 and 3,390 sold.

While Honda continued to lead the ATV sales race, their sales volume contracted in comparison to the same period last year—down 11.1 per cent, with 3,772 sold. They were followed by Yamaha (3,033), Polaris (2,904) and Suzuki (1,478). 

BRP again experienced significant growth (1,283 units)—up 24.6 per cent compared to the same time in 2012.

In a still slowing scooter market, Piaggio sales grew to 1,150 scooters—up 3.3 per cent from the same period last year. Honda was the second top scooter seller, with 859 sold.

Across all segments, Honda was the leading volume manufacturer with 17,286 units sold. They were followed by Yamaha (14,133), Kawasaki (8,501) and Suzuki (7,669).


5779 Harley's sold , in 2013

lol
Goober...  you cant equate product with jobsun growth...

Baronvonrort wrote on Feb 1^st, 2018 at 2:07pm:


and you lot prefer that all job creating renewable energy industries disappear. jobsungroth as long as it's only the jobs that you lot endorse.

Its time wrote on Feb 1^st, 2018 at 2:50pm:

Yet they are the biggest selling brand ...... oops sorry..... I gave you a fact again

Fuzzball wrote on Feb 1^st, 2018 at 1:20pm:


wow...

Its time wrote on Feb 1^st, 2018 at 5:39pm:

I see just more bleating but Harley Davidsons still out selling other brands ? Things can not be that bad ....... not a big fan of the bikes but many love the tough image it provides.
Sorry being factual again ..... I know you like protecting your delusions.

Sir lastnail wrote on Jan 31^st, 2018 at 8:13pm:


I think you mean that adopting renewables that have little to no effect on the environment, can not provide base load energy (as SA) and cost a lot more ?

America will once again be America without a Trump

Harley-Davidson's success is by and large a Baby Boomer phenomenon. Maybe they can keep the romance going outside of the USA, particularly in places like Asia, but Millennials in the USA care [fuhk]all about their bikes.