HARLEY CLOSES ADELAIDE WHEEL FACTORY

December 9, 2011 10:41 AM AEDT

Harley-Davidson announced on December 8 that it would be closing its Adelaide wheel-manufacturing plant and moving manufacture to China. While no specific reason has been given, it's speculated that the decision was partly due to the ongoing strength of the Australian dollar against the US dollar.

The decision by H-D was apparently made without consulting either the SA state government, or the Australian Workers Union. Both have criticised the lack of consultation by Harley's US management as well as the timing of the closure, just three weeks before Christmas.

Harley purchased the New Castalloy factory in North Plympton in late 2006, in order to secure ongoing supplies of wheels and hubs after the then owner went bankrupt. The South Australian government bought the land as part of the deal. At the time, Harley considered the Australian-made alloy wheels to be the best in the world, which was a major boost not only for Australia, but for manufacturing in the Adelaide region.

The SA state government has offered assistance packages up to $5,000 in value for retraining the 212 workers affected by the closure.