Thales' plans to cut 49 staff from its Bendigo operation, the bulk being high-skilled workers, has left local member Lisa Chesters feeling blindsided.
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She is furious as news emerges that workers might be let go and a further two positions not refilled in a round of voluntary redundancies and possible sackings.
"I do feel like Thales has let us down in Bendigo," Ms Chesters said.
In a letter to staff on September 5, Thales asked staff to indicate if they were open to voluntary redundancies, with expressions of interest closing on September 28.
It was made clear that if numbers weren't reached then Thales could move to non-voluntary cuts.
Ms Chesters said the planned cuts had "come as a complete shock and I thought we had done enough to secure jobs in the site".
The job losses would overshadow work set to begin in October on 78 heavily armoured Bushmaster military vehicles for the Australian Defence Force, which Ms Chesters was personally involved in lobbying for.
We 'thought we had done enough': Chesters
Ms Chesters said Thales came to her last year to outline their concerns that jobs could go without contracts to replace projects coming to an end.
"Thales approached me to say they were worried about the site," she said.
"I was a bit shocked that they had let it get to that stage but, if you'll remember, from the moment Labor was in government I had the minister responsible out to the site."
The Bushmaster contract that emerged from that lobbying work would backfill military vehicles donated to Ukraine, where they have become a symbol of Australia's support for that invaded country after receiving high praise from special forces soldiers on the ground.
"We've been able to secure that [project] and thought we had done enough. Now we hear there are more job losses, more redundancies that the company has got to look for, " Ms Chesters said.
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The letter to staff obtained by this masthead shows Thales wrote to staff on September 5 to warn that attempts to lock in extra contracts had not been successful and they were looking at redundancies.
"Recently, our sales teams have been all over the world actively chasing numerous 'live' opportunities," the division's director Ben Kelly told staff in the letter.
"As with all Defence programs we all know how competitive they are and they all come with lengthy lead times before a win is announced and then industrialised."
49 jobs on chopping block
Mr Kelly told staff the company needed to reduce 49 roles in Bendigo along with an extra two vacancies that would not be refilled.
Thales asked staff about their interest in voluntary redundancies, with expressions of interest to close on September 28.
"In the event that we receive less expressions of interest than we need, or we need to decline some to allow us to retain key skills and experience, we will move to a selection process to identify individuals whose employment may end because of redundancy," Mr Kelly told staff in the letter.
There would be opportunities to redeploy to other Thales roles, he wrote.
The new redundancies would come after a round in 2022, before Thales secured the Bushmaster backfill contract with the federal government.
Ms Chesters said the latest jobs cuts included high skilled blue-collar roles.
She supported any worker's decision to take voluntary redundancies but understood that expressions of interest had so far been lower than the 49 roles flagged to go.
"I'm saying to Thales to sit down with the union and the workers and make an individual plan for each person," Ms Chesters said.
"If people want to take a redundancy I welcome that. I understand why people might want to retire."
A Thales spokesperson said the company "highly values its workforce and the contribution that they make to our customers, national security and the overall success of the company".
They said Bendigo's workforce had been manufacturing products to worlds best practice for 70 years.
They created "products that have been strategically important for the country and critical to the Australian Defence Force - a credit to the skills and expertise of our local workforce".
This story was updated at 12.40pm on September 20, 2023, with comments from a Thales spokesperson.
Have you been impacted by the Thales cuts? Contact tom.ocallaghan@bendigoavertiser.com.au or jonathon.magrath@bendigoadvertiser.com.au.
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Tom O'Callaghan
I grew up in Bendigo and I want to tell your stories.
I grew up in Bendigo and I want to tell your stories.
