Jon Seeley (ILF2014)
Confusion and compliance costs around the federal government’s industrial relations reforms and a weak Australian dollar are adding to the cost pressures already facing businesses like Seeley International.
But managing director Jon Seeley says the company is “doubling down on Australian manufacturing” with new products and innovation.
Australia’s largest manufacturer of air conditioners and ducted gas heaters employs around 500 workers, mostly at its main factory in Lonsdale.
But the company is closing a second site at Albury in NSW, a move that Mr Seeley blames on changes to casual worker laws that had undermined the employment of a seasonal workforce at the site.
“We had legal clarity around casual employment; now we do not,” Mr Seeley said.