News just got worse for the manufacturing sector, with Electrolux today announcing that it will close down its refrigerator factory in Orange, New South Wales, and shift operations to Thailand, in a move that will see 500 direct workers lose their jobs, with many more likely to be indirectly affected. From the AFR:
Electrolux will shut its refrigerator plant in Orange, NSW, after deciding to put new investment into another plant in Thailand, with around 500 workers set to lose their jobs…
The plant will wind down in late 2015 and close for good in 2016. Hundreds of other indirect jobs are seen to be at risk…
An Electrolux briefing document said the production cost difference between the two plants in Orange and Thailand was “insurmountable”…
Thai labour costs are a quarter of Australia’s.
The most recent quarterly employment statistics from the ABS showed manufacturing employment falling to all time lows:
The sector looks to be in terminal decline, helped of course by the high Australian dollar.
