In every industrialised nation across the world, a country’s automotive industry continues to be a massive driver of the economy, employment, technological advancement and even self esteem. Some nations have perfected design and development, some have perfected manufacturing, and all share their relative strengths with each other to make great cars. So as South Korea’s fifth-largest carmaker Ssangyong went into receivership, which was owned by China’s largest, and supplied by Australia’s smallest component manufacturers, a classic example of the flow on effect followed.
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Speaker: Geoff Boyd, head of Korean automotive research division CLSA; David Smith, assistant general secretary of the Australian Manufacturing Workers Union’s vehicle division.
I couldn’t reveal the name of the Albury parts manufacturer at the time because the unions were still negotiating, but it was Drivetrain Systems, which laid of hundreds of staff in February.