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Ford Australia to stop making cars
Decision to end manufacturing means the loss of 1,200 direct jobs and knock-on for communities and parts suppliers
Ford is closing its two Australian auto plants and ending production of cars including the Falcon in 2016 amid soaring manufacturing costs and plummeting sales.
The closure of the automaker's plants in the state of Victoria will mean the loss of 1,200 direct jobs, as well as affecting industries that supply parts and support, and will leave Ford as an import-only brand in Australia. Ford began making cars in Australia in 1925 and is the third-largest carmaker in the country.
"We understand the very real impact that this will have on our team," Ford Australia president Bob Graziano told reporters at the company's Melbourne plant. "We came to this conclusion only after thoroughly reviewing our business and exhausting all other alternatives."
Australia's high dollar has put pressure on the country's carmakers, with locally produced cars more expensive than those made overseas. In April Ford's chief competitor, Holden, said it was cutting 500 jobs amid the high dollar and falling demand.
"The strength of the Australian dollar bears down on Australian manufacturing and it does make it a difficult environment for manufacturing to prosper," Julia Gillard, the Australian prime minister, said following Ford's announcement.
The carmaker released its annual financial report, which showed a loss of A$141m dollars (£90m/$136m) after tax for the 2012 financial year. That follows a loss of A$290m in 2011 and a total loss of A$600m over the past five years.
Read more @ Ford Australia to stop making cars | Business | guardian.co.uk
Decision to end manufacturing means the loss of 1,200 direct jobs and knock-on for communities and parts suppliers
Ford is closing its two Australian auto plants and ending production of cars including the Falcon in 2016 amid soaring manufacturing costs and plummeting sales.
The closure of the automaker's plants in the state of Victoria will mean the loss of 1,200 direct jobs, as well as affecting industries that supply parts and support, and will leave Ford as an import-only brand in Australia. Ford began making cars in Australia in 1925 and is the third-largest carmaker in the country.
"We understand the very real impact that this will have on our team," Ford Australia president Bob Graziano told reporters at the company's Melbourne plant. "We came to this conclusion only after thoroughly reviewing our business and exhausting all other alternatives."
Australia's high dollar has put pressure on the country's carmakers, with locally produced cars more expensive than those made overseas. In April Ford's chief competitor, Holden, said it was cutting 500 jobs amid the high dollar and falling demand.
"The strength of the Australian dollar bears down on Australian manufacturing and it does make it a difficult environment for manufacturing to prosper," Julia Gillard, the Australian prime minister, said following Ford's announcement.
The carmaker released its annual financial report, which showed a loss of A$141m dollars (£90m/$136m) after tax for the 2012 financial year. That follows a loss of A$290m in 2011 and a total loss of A$600m over the past five years.
Read more @ Ford Australia to stop making cars | Business | guardian.co.uk
