Unfortunately business is business - Boeing runs a factory, not a museum.
There have been rumours about the Bankstown site closing for quite a long time (CRC-ACS has been talking about shifting to Brisbane for a little while now).
Boeing has been working on aligning the HdH operation to their own practices since they acquired it... They have shed a lot of smaller 3rd party projects (e.g. Nomad) and consequently run a much tighter ship now. I would say this explains the 200 job losses last year.
The Fisherman's Bend plant has been upgraded in recent years with significant government investment, hence the decision to relocate to Victoria.
Look on the bright side:
Boeing Aerostructres Australia (ex Hdh) is responsible for design/production of most of the wing control surfaces for the 787 at Fisherman's Bend, and since Boeing is shifting to a world-wide manufacturing model with the 787 (a la Airbus), Fisherman's Bend should be safe for the forseeable future - no need for prophecies of doom.
300 out of 350 of the workers in Sydney will be given the option to transfer to Fisherman's Bend. Those that don't are most likely the ancillary staff (security, site admin, canteen workers etc). Personally I'd choose to relocate to Melbourne as insurance - if I were to lose my job, it would be easier to find work in aerospace in Melbourne than in Sydney.
On another note, if you go to the Melbourne Museum, you will see a small 1950's delivery van in the foyer- all sheet-metal and rivets, produced by none other than the CAC.
Last edited by nick2007; 5th Mar 2010 at 16:08.
Reason: Add note about delivery van