CARBON REVOLUTION AXES 180 WORKERS:
CARBON Revolution says it is working closely with labour hire firms to help redeploy as many people as possible after it cut 180 casual jobs at its Waurn Ponds factory.
The carbon fibre wheel manufacturer this week temporarily suspended its nightshift and stopped a weekend shift that had been introduced earlier this year to help ramp up production.
Wednesday’s cuts come as a result of reduced sales to a major car company facing issues with one of its vehicles as a result of COVID-19.
CEO Jake Dingle said Carbon Revolution was working through transition plans for all affected team members.
“The priority is redeployment and there appears to be good opportunities for that,” Mr Dingle said.
Other options for axed staff include JobKeeper and JobSeeker payments. Carbon Revolution is also working with the undisclosed car manufacturer to help address its issues.
The only company in the world making one-piece carbon fibre wheels at an industrial level, Carbon Revolution’s customers are international prestige and sports car manufacturers that have faced disruptions to supply chains and fluctuations in demand.
“We ramped up at their (customer’s) request and their requirement and now have to manage that down,” Mr Dingle said.
He said the company had typically used labour hire firms, which directly employ workers, to bring people into the company as production increased in the past 12 months.
“These people have been trained and have skills here; we see this as temporary,” Mr Dingle said.
“We are hoping this is something we can work through with them and get back on track with that customer as quickly as possible.”
Mr Dingle said team members were also being redeployed internally, creating opportunities for upskilling.
“The people on nightshift are being redeployed across day and afternoon shifts as we really flex what we need to do to maintain the business through this the best way we can,” he said.
“We are lucky we have a very engaged team that is willing to do these things to make sure that we can operate effectively through a challenge like this.”