Ford to stop manufacturing in Australia

MELBOURNE: Ford will cease its manufacturing operations in Australia by October 2016 with the loss of 1,200 jobs.

Ford
Australia president and chief executive Bob Graziano said the company
made a loss of A$141 million after tax in the last financial year, with a
loss of A$600 million over the past five years.

Ford Australia
employs more than 3,500 people at its manufacturing plants at the
suburbs Broadmeadows, in Melbourne's north, and the coastal provincial
city of Geelong.

In January last year, the Australian government
contributed A$34 million to Ford's A$103 million production upgrade, and
the Victorian government an unspecified amount.

At the time the company said the upgrade would mean the Territory and Falcon models would continue to be made here until 2016.

Graziano said the costs of manufacturing cars in Australia was
uncompetitive.

"Manufacturing is not viable for Ford in the long-term," he told reporters at Broadmeadows on Thursday.

Graziano
said all entitlements would be protected for the 1,200 employees, whose
jobs are affected, and the company would work through the next three
years to provide support.-- Bernama