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Who Killed the Australian Automotive Industry: The Employers, Government or Trade Unions?
Author(s) -
Clibborn Stephen,
Lansbury Russell D.,
Wright Chris F.
Publication year - 2016
Publication title -
economic papers: a journal of applied economics and policy
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.245
H-Index - 19
eISSN - 1759-3441
pISSN - 0812-0439
DOI - 10.1111/1759-3441.12127
Subject(s) - automotive industry , demise , multinational corporation , government (linguistics) , general motors , business , production (economics) , industrial organization , industrial relations , public policy , economics , market economy , engineering , economic growth , finance , political science , management , linguistics , philosophy , law , macroeconomics , aerospace engineering
The decision by the three multinational automotive manufacturers – Ford, General Motors and Toyota – to cease production in A ustralia followed a long period of decline in the local industry. This paper examines the factors potentially contributing to these decisions including reductions in government assistance to the industry, the volatility in exchange rates, global strategic decisions by the parent companies to shift production to expanding markets in A sia, and the role of industrial relations and trade unions. Despite the attention given in public discourse to industrial relations arrangements in supposedly hastening the demise of local automotive manufacturing, we find that this factor made no identifiable difference to the final decisions of the parent companies in Tokyo and Detroit to cease production in Australia, which can be attributed to an unfavourable conjuncture of factors. The paper concludes by considering possible options for retaining some aspects of automotive manufacturing in Australia in the future.