Australia“s only electric light bulb factory will shut on 24 April after 71 years of continuous production. As foreshadowed in the Newcastle Herald, the board of directors of Electric Lamp Manufactur…
Australia“s only electric light bulb factory will shut on 24 April after 71 years of continuous production. As foreshadowed in the Newcastle Herald, the board of directors of Electric Lamp Manufacturers (Australia) Pty. Ltd. have decided to close the factory, in Clyde St, Hamilton, before liquidating the business. The company“s 220 workers were called to a meeting, where general manager Mike Gill told them the closure was inevitable. He said that years of battling to stay afloat in the face of cheaper imports, declining market share, financial losses and falling world prices“ contributed to the decision. Mr Gill said plant and equipment would be sold, with the proceeds to help pay redundancy entitlements. Unions, led by the Australian Workers Union (AWU), recently negotiated a new redundancy package based on three weeks pay for every year of service. Mr Gill declined to say how much the redundancy, long-service and other payments would cost the company. But based on the age and service of the workforce, the Herald estimates the total bill will exceed US$ 5 million. After weeks of rumours concerning the plant“s future, the bad news was delivered officially at a mass meeting in the staff canteen. At a media conference Mr Gill said the company had wanted to give people plenty of warning about the closure. Financial planners and counsellors had been made available to help the workers cope with the closure. Mr Gill would not divulge financial details but confirmed the company had lost money in the past two years. Mr Gill said the plant needed to reline its furnace, which is believed to cost between US$ 1.5 million and US$ 2 million. Claims reported that it cost the factory 36 cents to make a light bulb that can be exported to Australia from Asia for about 11 cents. Mr Gill disputed these figures but conceded the factory“s costs were more than three times that of some imports. “Despite the endeavours of this company and its workers, our share of the domestic market continues to diminish,” he said. “We simply cannot compete with low-cost imports from other countries where there are low labour rates and massive economies of scale.” In addition, Mr Gill said consumers had shifted to energy-efficient light sources such as compact fluoresecent lamps, which are promoted as being better for the environment. The company does not produce these lamps. Workers said that a plant to make long-life bulbs would have cost US$ 15 million.