The inevitable end of passenger automobile manufacturing in Australia has been cited in Denso Automotive Systems Australia’s announcement that it would end local production.
The Japanese parent company’s and local company’s CEOs made the announcement on Wednesday. The local company makes products including fuel pump modules and cooling components.
Though attempts to diversify had been made, the scale of production provided by the local automotive industry could not be replaced. Holden, Ford and Toyota will all end manufacturing in Australia in 2016 and 2017.
According to the Herald Sun, some 90 per cent of jobs could be shed at Denso, which employs 390 and will turn into an aftermarket and sales operation, with uncertainty around what would happen to local R&D and facilities.
"Due to our customers' decisions to end production, we had no choice but to make this very difficult decision," Nobuaki Katoh, president and CEO of DENSO Corporation said, according to JCN Network.
"I would like to express my deepest appreciation to our employees and the local community for their support of DENSO in Australia for the past 42 years."
Denso has been operating in Australia since 1972 and at the Croydon site since 1989. According to the company, there are 390 employed in Australia, with an average age of 45 and an average period of service of 12 years.
Image: https://maps.google.com.au/