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Ford Australia is to cut another 500 jobs from its Victorian workforce as slow sales, high fuel prices and its troubled US parent continue to bite hard on its bottom line.
Both manufacturing and office workers would be laid off in the latest round of cuts, which would bring to almost 1500 the number of workers Ford will shed from its Broadmeadows and Geelong operations in the next two years, Australian newspapers are reporting today.
Ford makes Falcon sedans, wagons and utilities and Territory wagons in Victoria - large cars suffering a sales drought because of dearer fuel. Its US parent company is labouring under massive financial losses.
Ford Australia spokeswoman Sinead McAlary would not confirm the cuts, but Australian Manufacturing Workers Union vehicle secretary Ian Jones said he met with the company late yesterday and was expecting hundreds of jobs to go.
"I don't think it's going to be small," he said. "We know there are jobs going - we just don't know the total figure.
"These big cars are not selling," he said. "The financial crisis globally, to be quite frank, means people are hanging onto their money - the second biggest purchase they make in their life is their car."
In August, Ford said it would cut 350 manufacturing jobs from next month in a bid to reduce its annual output by one-quarter, or 18,000 cars.
Last year, Ford said it would close its six-cylinder engine plant at Geelong by the end of 2010, with the loss of 600 jobs, although it has said it would make small Focus cars at its Broadmeadows plant from 2011.
Ford employs 4500 people, with about 2500 in manufacturing, in Australia.
Steve Bracks, the former Victorian premier and head of the federal automotive industry review, said yesterday he expected Australia would reduce its car tariffs from 10 per cent to 5 per cent in 2010, as his August report recommended.
Mr Bracks said zero-tariff agreements already in place, in conjunction with a 5 per cent general tariff, would drastically reduce the total level of protection for the car market.
"If you take into account free trade agreements that we have in which there's no tariffs, the US and Thailand ... New Zealand, the tariffs will be eventually about 3 to 4 per cent, so it's almost nothing and it won't be an issue," he told AAP.
"I think the issue about tariffs are an issue which will sort of be almost beyond debate, because we won't have any tariffs to speak of in the future ... and that will put us in a very strong position internationally."
Ford Australia said it was "a concern for the industry's ability to compete globally" and Holden said it would "put more pressure" on Australia's car makers, which were already competing with Brazilian and Chinese manufacturers with tariffs as high as 35 per cent.
The Australian Manufacturing Workers' Union slammed the tariff reduction recommendation when it was released in August, saying it would put Australia "out on a limb ahead of the rest of the world".
- AAP
