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GM disputes job fears over Holden axing

Car giant contacts Australian politicians to claim the number of workers facing the boot is a fraction of the figure predicted by dealerships.
Posted on 18 March, 2020
GM disputes job fears over Holden axing

Holden dealers across the ditch are fuming after General Motors told the Australian federal government that job losses at its showrooms will be considerably lower than the industry predicts.

The US car giant, which is retiring the Holden brand from Australia and New Zealand by the end of 2020, has reportedly sent a letter to all federal members and senators claiming about 650 showroom staff in Australia will be affected by the shutdown.

This is considerably less than the 9,000 job losses that dealers anticipate once all aspects of their businesses are included.

The leaked document, signed by interim chairman and managing director of Holden, Kristian Aquilina, says: “In 2019, dealers collectively reported to Holden that there were 400 new sales consultants, 157 new sales managers, 49 fleet sales consultants and 40 fleet managers dedicated to the Holden brand across the whole network of 185 dealers (which operate 203 showrooms).”

Based on these numbers, the potential job losses would be 3.2 workers per showroom according to Holden’s figures. This compares to 44 jobs at risk per showroom based on dealers’ estimates, reports CarAdvice.

“There may be some impact on jobs at dealers but not anywhere near the exaggerated numbers we have seen reported,” says the Holden document.

A Holden dealer council representative says GM’s forecasts are “offensive and laughable”.

The leaked document from GM also claims only 10 per cent of its dealers are solely dependent on Holden for their income – and those outlets will receive more compensation compared to dealerships that sell multiple car brands.

Details of the letter come just days after it emerged that Australia’s Holden dealers are uniting in a fight for more compensation from GM over the axing of the brand.