Motor unions worry about likely layoffs

Press, 21 August 1984, Page 1

Motor unions worry about likely layoffs

PA Wellington Booming new car sales have motor industry unions worried about another 1982style slump which saw hundreds of workers laid off. With record sales of 11,088 vehicles last month as buyers rushed to get in before devaluation affects new car prices, the demand in the coming month is expected to fall. All three Wellington assemblers — Todd, Ford, and General Motors — agreed there would be a downturn later in the year, but each said they would not be too badly affected because of

their particular model ranges. Todd’s planning manager, Dr John Tamahori, said the market should start “cooling off’ in the next two months when post-devalua-tion stock started hitting the market. He said the big difference between now and 1982 was that “nobody has done anything crazy by going flat out to keep up stocks.” The vice-president of the Component Manufacturers’ Federation, Mr Charlie Stobert, said that he did not expect a big drop in orders from the assemblers before

Christmas. He said that his firm, National Radiators, Ltd, did not foresee layoffs as it had been meeting the high demand for parts by having staff work overtime rather than hiring more workers. However, the secretary of the Coachworkers’ Union, Mr Graeme Clarke, said that his union has approached employers asking for a meeting with all the employers as a group to give some guarantees of, continued employment. The employers, however, had not agreed to such a meeting.