Holden shifts up a gear

Local car-makers appear to be shaking off the vestiges of the global financial crisis with GM Holden announcing this week that its Elizabeth plant will return to a second shift in November.

According to an official press statement from the company, this will mean a return to full-time employment for "all employees who remain on alternating working patterns" and is expected to be supplemented by the "hiring of a small number of employees to support the second shift in the short term with the potential to increase employment further when demand significantly increases in the longer term."

According to Innovation Minister Senator Kim Carr: "This second shift will reward the workforce by returning full-time jobs to 300 assembly line workers. It means that all Holden Vehicle Operations employees will return to full employment."

This appears to be tied to the introduction of the locally built Holden Cruze, which will replace the so-far imported Holden small car, towards the end of this year. The plant is currently readying for Cruze production with "equipment installation and the building of pilot vehicles."

The Australian-built Cruze benefits from a $149 million contribution from the federal government under the Green Car Innovation Fund.

Elizabeth is also preparing for the launch of the Series II Commodore expected to go on sale in "coming months." The updated Commodore is expected to receive an interior rework largely centred on the dash area where numerous revisions including a touch-screen display will feature.

Single-shift production was introduced at the Elizabeth plant in April 2009 when Holden's export programme slipped by about 50,000 vehicles.

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