Article: Union fears more Wide Bay manufacturing job losses

[ozbob]

From the ABC News click here!

Union fears more Wide Bay manufacturing job losses

Union fears more Wide Bay manufacturing job losses
By Alyse Edwards

The Construction, Forestry, Mining and Energy Union (CFMEU) says more job losses at one of Maryborough's biggest employers would be catastrophic for the Wide Bay region in southern Queensland.

CFMEU regional organiser Laurie Genrich says 12 engineers were sacked from train manufacturer Downer EDI last week and a decision on 10 trades positions is due today.

"They told them that 10 extra employees were to go - they are going to call for voluntary [redundancies]," he said.

"If they haven't got the numbers they're seeking by way of the voluntary 'put your hand up', they will then become forced redundancies.

"The rest of 2013 for Maryborough looks extremely grim."

Mr Genrich says he fears the company is sending work offshore.

"They have won a locomotive contract which will be used here in our coal and heavy haulage on our lines but it will be manufactured offshore," he said.

"Had that contract been built here in Maryborough, it may very well have saved, if not all of those jobs, then very well some of those jobs."

[ozbob]

Fraser Coast Chronicle --> Downer EDI cuts more jobs and the axe will continue to hover

[colinw]

Didn't Downer EDI pull out of the NGR tendering process?  Seems to me that those whining should be looking a bit closer to home if they can't even see fit to bid a major local tender in their core area of business.

[HappyTrainGuy]

The reason the gave was the tender buy in cost or something for the 3 billion dollar contract.

[colinw]

At the time I wondered if was a bit of a "once bitten, twice shy" response as EDI Downer were in a poor position with losses from the Millennium trains in NSW.