REDUNDANCIES – AUSTRALIA

800 Aurizon jobs go amid cost-cutting

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Original article by Jenny Wiggins
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 27 : 8-Oct-15

Australian-listed rail freight operator Aurizon Holdings aims to reduce its costs by up to $A380m over the next three years. The group has also flagged the retrenchment of an additional 800 full-time employees in its operations division, which follows the loss of 3,000 jobs over the last five years. Meanwhile, CEO Lance Hockridge says Aurizon may consider acquisitions if the West Pilbara Iron Ore Project is shelved.

CORPORATES
AURIZON HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX AZJ, ASCIANO LIMITED – ASX AIO, PACIFIC NATIONAL PTY LTD, BROOKFIELD INFRASTRUCTURE PARTNERS LP, AUSTRALIAN COMPETITION AND CONSUMER COMMISSION, WIGGINS ISLAND COAL EXPORT TERMINAL PTY LTD

BHP to cut 37pc of jobs in Melbourne

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Original article by Matthew Stevens, Amanda Saunders
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 15 & 20 : 29-Jul-15

BHP Billiton is expected to retrench, relocate or redeploy about 100 employees at its head office in Melbourne in the next 18 months. The resources group has previously shed about 80 jobs at the Melbourne office, and the latest proposed cuts are likely to reduce staff numbers to about 300. BHP also intends to make cutbacks in other areas, including its legal and corporate affairs teams, while its Treasury division will be relocated to the UK.

CORPORATES
BHP BILLITON LIMITED – ASX BHP, SOUTH32 LIMITED – ASX S32

Staff cuts risk ‘dangerous spiral’ at Myer

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Original article by Sue Mitchell
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 15 : 28-Jul-15

Citigroup’s Craig Woolford says Myer Holdings’ plan to scale back its permanent workforce could backfire by adversely affecting customer service and in turn leading to lower sales. The department store group also proposes a 20 per cent reduction in working hours for casual and part-time employees. Myer argues that the changes will result in greater rostering flexibility during periods when staff are most in demand. Myer shed 80 employees at its head office earlier in 2015.

CORPORATES
MYER HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX MYR, CITIGROUP PTY LTD, DAVID JONES LIMITED, WOOLWORTHS HOLDINGS LIMITED, CLSA AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, SHOP, DISTRIBUTIVE AND ALLIED EMPLOYEES’ ASSOCIATION

Man to Man closes 20 stores, sheds 100 staff

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Original article by Leo Shanahan
The Australian – Page: 16 : 9-Jan-15

Ferrier Hodgson’s Brendan Richards is hopeful that a buyer will emerge for failed menswear retailer Man to Man, with indicative offers due by 9 January 2015. The retail chain will continue to operate 62 stores following the closure of 20 outlets, which will result in the loss of nearly 100 jobs. Man to Man has debts of $A28m, and went into voluntary administration in late 2014

CORPORATES
MAN TO MAN FASHION MENSWEAR, FERRIER HODGSON AND COMPANY, DEUTSCHE BANK AG

Little Christmas cheer for almost 100 ABC journalists who face redundancy

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Original article by Anna Patty
The Sydney Morning Herald – Page: 8 : 18-Dec-14

ABC employees have been given a deadline of 5pm on 19 December 2014 to accept voluntary redundancies. Some journalists were informed of their retrenchment on 17 December, and the ABC has been criticised for its handling of the job cuts. The ABC is expected to retrench about 100 staff, and a spokeswoman has indicated that they will not be leaving the public broadcaster immediately unless they choose to do so

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN BROADCASTING CORPORATION, MEDIA, ENTERTAINMENT AND ARTS ALLIANCE, AUSTRALIA. FAIR WORK COMMISSION

CCA sheds 260 jobs to help cut costs by $100m

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Original article by Sue Mitchell
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 15 &20 : 9-Dec-14

Australia-listed Coca-Cola Amatil (CCA) has advised that its EBIT for the second half of 2014 will be higher than the first-half result of $A316.7m. The group’s underlying EBIT for calendar 2013 was $A833m. Meanwhile, CCA will retrench 260 employees in the finance, human resources and IT departments in 2015 as it seeks to achieve further cost savings. CEO Alison Watkins notes that sales of its new products are performing well

CORPORATES
COCA-COLA AMATIL LIMITED – ASX CCL, GRAINCORP LIMITED – ASX GNC, CIMB SECURITIES INTERNATIONAL (AUSTRALIA) PTY LTD, CITIGROUP PTY LTD, THE COCA-COLA COMPANY, PEATS RIDGE WATER PTY LTD, BARISTA BROS

Workers accept Holden payout

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Original article by Sarah Martin
The Australian – Page: 2 : 6-Nov-14

John Camillo, South Australian secretary of the Australian Manufacturing Workers’ Union, has announced that its members have voted in favour of the new enterprise bargaining agreement (EBA) at GM Holden. It has been lodged with the Fair Work Commission, but is also likely to be the last EBA as the car maker will withdraw from local assembly by 2017. Until then wages will increase 3% per annum, and voluntary redundancy packages are being offered that consist of 3.5 weeks’ worth of pay for each year of service

CORPORATES
GM HOLDEN LIMITED, GENERAL MOTORS CORPORATION, AUSTRALIAN MANUFACTURING WORKERS’ UNION, AUSTRALIA. FAIR WORK COMMISSION, FORD MOTOR COMPANY AUSTRALIA LIMITED, FORD MOTOR COMPANY, TOYOTA MOTOR CORPORATION AUSTRALIA LIMITED, TOYOTA MOTOR CORPORATION

Limbo leads to turbine layoffs

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Original article by Joanna Heath, Lucille Keen
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 4 : 24-Oct-14

Keppel Prince is to close its wind turbine division, which will result in 100 job losses. The retrenchments are the first to arise from the Australian Government’s review of the renewable energy target (RET). Keppel Prince’s Steve Garner says no orders for wind turbines have been received in 14 months, which would not have been the case had the RET be left unchanged. The sackings came one day after Industry Minister Ian Macfarlane said the Government will pursue a close to 40 per cent drop in the RET in absolute terms

CORPORATES
KEPPEL PRINCE ENGINEERING PTY LTD, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF INDUSTRY, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, VICTORIA. DEPT OF PREMIER AND CABINET, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET, PACIFIC HYDRO LIMITED, INDUSTRY FUNDS MANAGEMENT PTY LTD, IFM RENEWABLE ENERGY PTY LTD, ALCOA INCORPORATED – ASX AAI

$2 sale adds to gloom in ailing coal sector

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Original article by Sarah-Jane Tasker
The Australian – Page: 20 : 3-Oct-14

The benchmark price for metallurgical coal negotiated by Japanese steel producers with Australian mining groups has been set at $US119 a tonne for the final three months of calendar 2014. This compares with a peak of $US330 in 2011 and is a low last seen in 2008. The slump has already triggered widespread redundancies in Queensland by companies such as BHP Billiton. The malaise in the sector has now also been underlined by a deal in which Up Energy Development Group will pay just $US2 to Marubeni and Winsway Enterprises to acquire Grande Cache Coal in Canada

CORPORATES
BHP BILLITON LIMITED – ASX BHP, UP ENERGY DEVELOPMENT GROUP LIMITED, GRANDE CACHE COAL CORPORATION, WINSWAY COKING COAL HOLDINGS LIMITED, MARUBENI CORPORATION, SUMITOMO CORPORATION, VALE SA, DEUTSCHE BANK AG

Axe tipped to fall early on Holden engineers

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Original article by John Ferguson
The Australian – Page: 4 : 18-Sep-14

GM Holden has declined to comment on speculation that it will retrench 300 engineers. The car-maker has said only that the closure of its Australian manufacturing operations will be a "long and orderly" process, and that it will reduce its engineering team over a period of time. About 2,000 Holden employees will lose their jobs when production ceases in 2017

CORPORATES
GM HOLDEN LIMITED, GENERAL MOTORS CORPORATION