Holden Job Cuts Won't Affect 2014 Chevrolet SS Launch, Automaker Says

Holden Job Cuts Won't Affect 2014 Chevrolet SS Launch, Automaker Says | Edmunds.com


Holden Job Cuts Won't Affect 2014 Chevrolet SS Launch, Automaker Says

Published: 04/09/2013 - by Anita Lienert, Correspondent

• 2014 Chevrolet SS Picture
  Job cuts at Holden won't affect the U.S. launch of the 2014 Chevrolet SS. | April 09, 2013 | General Motors Corporation

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Just the Facts:

• Holden said it will cut 500 jobs in its Australian operations, but the cuts will not affect the U.S. launch of the 2014 Chevrolet SS, Chevrolet told Edmunds on Tuesday.
• The VF Commodore is the Holden version of the 2014 Chevrolet SS.
• Holden said the cuts are due "primarily to a reduction in demand for its locally made Cruze small car led by a high Australian dollar."

MELBOURNE, Australia — Holden said it will cut 500 jobs in its Australian operations, but the cuts will not affect the U.S. launch of the 2014 Chevrolet SS, Chevrolet told Edmunds on Tuesday.
"No impact on SS program," wrote Michael Albano, a Chevrolet spokesman in the U.S., in response to an e-mailed query.
The VF Commodore is the Holden version of the 2014 Chevrolet SS.
The Sydney Morning Herald said the cuts are casting a pall over the upcoming launch of the VF Commodore.
The VF Commodore is set for a June launch in Australia. The Chevrolet SS, a rear-wheel-drive performance sedan, was unveiled to great fanfare in February at the Daytona International Speedway. Chevrolet is selling a rear-wheel-drive sedan in the U.S. for the first time in 17 years.
The 2014 Chevrolet SS will arrive in U.S. showrooms in the fourth quarter, alongside a redesigned 2014 Chevrolet Corvette Stingray.
Holden said the cuts are due "primarily to a reduction in demand for its locally made Cruze small car led by a high Australian dollar."
Holden says the company will cut production at its Elizabeth plant from 400 to 335 cars a day starting August 1 in reaction to slow sales of the Commodore and the Cruze. A further 100 workers will be cut from its Victoria workforce.
Holden cited stiff competition from Japanese brands as partly responsible for the job losses. "Since we launched the Cruze small car in 2009, our pricing has been reduced by up to $2,500 in some instances for exactly the same vehicle in order to compete with imported brands," said Mike Devereux, Holden chairman and managing director, in a statement. He added: "Competition in the Australian market is brutal."
Holden said just between June and July of 2012, Cruze volume decreased by 38 percent and "it hasn't come back."
Edmunds says: Some reassuring words from Chevrolet for anyone who has his eye on a 2014 Chevrolet SS.