It’s been a bad few months in Geelong – Victoria’s second biggest city.
Last month, Ford Motor Company announced that it would cease its Australian assembly operations by 2016, with over 500 jobs set to go from its Geelong engine assembly plant.
The news followed Shell’s decision to sell its Geelong refinery by the end of 2014, putting at risk over 400 jobs.
Up to 500 jobs are also at risk at Geelong’s Alcoa aluminium smelter, following sharp falls in aluminium prices since 2011. Geelong’s Point Henry smelter is in the fire line after it posted big losses, although $40 million of government subsidies are expected to keep it in operation until mid next year.
And today, Target Australia announced that it would cut around 200 jobs from its Geelong head office, equating to roughly 20% of its head office workforce.
The spate of job cuts comes as major housing developments are planned in and around Geelong, including at Armstrong Creek (housing 60,000 people), Lara (10,000), Curlewis (12,000) and Ocean Grove (10,000). At this rate, these developments are looking more and more like commuter estates serving the Melbourne economy.
