Nissan workers will lose their jobs in Melbourne and three other cities across the country as the car maker prepares to outsource its warehousing and logistics operations.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
The announcement has shocked employees at Nissan, coming after news of strong global demand for Australian-made auto components which had given hope their future was safe "well beyond 2020".
Thousands of jobs have been lost in the Australian auto industry in recent years, but Nissan's warehousing job cuts come despite moves to expand its local components manufacturing business.
Most of the redundancies will be at the company's Dandenong South warehouse, in Melbourne's south-east, where 42 jobs will be axed before the site eventually shuts down.
Workers will also lose their jobs in Sydney, Brisbane and Perth when the distribution of locally manufactured auto parts is outsourced next month.
The Australian Manufacturing Workers Union said the decision to outsource warehousing work to CEVA Logistics at a time when Nissan was increasing its market share was "deeply disappointing".
AMWU assistant state secretary Paul Defelice said workers wanted to know why they were not consulted about the changes, in line with requirements of the enterprise bargaining agreement.
"In April, the company made a statement enshrining the future of the casting plant and the warehouse across the road, saying it was actually expecting to recruit more workers," Mr Defelice said.
"It's really come out of the blue for workers."
Warehouse worker Judi Blackwell said staff were devastated by the shock decision.
"This is not part of the auto industry collapse, warehousing is alive and strong," she said.
"This is about outsourcing and it's about lowering pay and conditions."
Nissan Australia said the decision to shut its in-house warehousing and logistics operations was the result of a major review, which found efficiency improvements were needed to remain competitive.
The company said there were no plans to redeploy staff. "But Nissan Australia is offering all staff affected by this change assistance relating to employment outside Nissan as well as other related services," a spokesman said.
Ms Blackwell said employees at the Dandenong South warehouse were hard-working and had consistently met their key performance indicators.
"We were meeting their targets, whatever targets they put in front of us," she said.
"People here are really sad, and we would like the company to reconsider."
The union and Nissan officials are expected to meet on Tuesday.
