Ford Set to Axe Hundreds of Aussie Jobs in Bid to ‘Improve Efficiency’

Photo of Ford motor car plant in Geelong, Victoria, Australia taken on May 24, 2013. (AAP Image/David Crosling)

Vehicle manufacturing giant Ford has announced plans to cut 400 jobs from its Australian workforce as the company seeks to “improve efficiency.”

This follows a global culling of approximately 3,000 jobs as the company moves towards electrification and comes as Ford announced in March plans to cut 250 jobs from its Geelong and Broadmeadows plants.

The City of Geelong will be hardest hit, with most of the hundreds of job losses expected to start in September.

“We have begun consultation with our employees and unions on our intention to offer a separation program for approximately 400 or 1,800 employees in Australia,” the company said in an email to The Epoch Times.

“The majority of these will be in product development and design, with a small number in other functions. The changes are part of Ford’s global drive to improve efficiency and transform its operations to meet future needs.

“Australia will continue to be the centre of development for the Ranger and Everest globally.”

Australian Manufacturing Workers Union (AMWU) Vehicle Industry Coordinator, Vince Pepi, said voluntary redundancies would take effect in September and that union members could access transition support services.

Of the 400 jobs set to go, 350 are white-collar workers, with around 50 being blue-collar workers, Pepi said.

“We understand that this news will be difficult for many workers and their families, and we want to ensure they have all the resources they need,” Pepi said in a statement to The Epoch Times.

“As part of our commitment to supporting our members during this challenging time, AMWU members are entitled to a redundancy outplacement program, along with a payment of 4.1 [weeks of wages per year] of service and $500 for financial advice.”

“We will continue to work closely with our members and their Ford management as the situation progresses.”

Victorian Ministers Respond

Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews said on June 22 that his government has engaged with affected employees.

“This will be a tough time for those Ford workers and their families,” he said at a press conference.

“This is a decision out of the United States. And it will be a very challenging time. We are already engaged in providing support to those workers.”

Meanwhile, Victorian Jobs and Manufacturing Minister Ben Carroll said the state government would support Geelong’s Ford workers.

“It’s always difficult when anyone loses a job—it can be one, or it could be 10, or it could be 50,” he said on June 22.

“It’s always felt very hard by those families in those communities.

“I have every confidence that we'll find solutions for these workers and be able to do tailor-made solutions to support them going forward.”

The jobs minister said that the soon-to-be ex-employees are “well trained” and that the state government has a “great partnership” with the automotive sector.

Global and Local Job Losses

The news of the job losses follows an announcement in August 2022 that the car giant would cut approximately 3,000 jobs, mainly in North America and India, as the company moves to catch up with Tesla and gears towards electric vehicle production.

Ford Chief Executive Jim Farley said in a memo to staff that the company needed to restructure in order to be more competitive.

“Building this future requires changing and reshaping virtually all aspects of the way we have operated for more than a century,” Farley said.

“It requires focus, clarity and speed. And, as we have discussed in recent months, it means redeploying resources and addressing our cost structure, which is uncompetitive versus traditional and new competitors.”

Meanwhile, approximately 900 jobs (or 40 percent) of Ford Australia’s workforce have been cut since June 2022, reported Drive.

These job cuts have occurred in the 18 months proceeding the launch of the Ranger ute and Everest SUV, which arrived in showrooms in June 2022 and August 2022.

Ford also saw an increase in new vehicle sales, up 29 percent since June 2023. For example, Ford’s Ranger ute saw 21,407 sales this year.

Vehicle Manufacturing in Australia

At its height during the 1970s, the car manufacturing industry had around 90,000 workers and produced nearly half a million vehicles a year.

However, the winding back of support against the backdrop of a high domestic exchange rate, the introduction of free trade agreements with other vehicle-producing countries, and shifting consumer preferences ultimately forced the closure of domestic vehicle production, according to a 2020 Department of Industry, Innovation, and Science report (pdf).

Ford’s Geelong and Broadmeadows plants were car manufacturing hubs prior to the end of Australia’s car manufacturing in 2016.

The 2016 closure of Ford’s Geelong and Broadmeadows plants saw 600 job losses and thousands of redundancies nationwide.

Holden and Toyota closed their manufacturing plants in 2017.

The announcement of Ford, Holden, and Toyota’s plant closures occurred within eight months from May 2013, when the companies found low sales of locally made vehicles and Australia’s high exchange rate were neither favourable nor profitable for the car manufacturers. This was despite tariff reductions and subsidies worth tens of millions of dollars from the government for car manufacturers to expand their operations.

Both the federal and state governments provided transition support services for workers who sought new employment industries—similar to what the state government is offering for those affected by the recent announcement.

Victorian Minister for Employment and Industry Ben Carroll has said that the local defence industry is one avenue for new employment opportunities.

“We already are building the $170 million Armoured Vehicle Centre of Excellence through [South Korean defence company] Hanwha. These are great skills. They are jobs that are in demand. And we know that the automotive sector, with the Andrews Labor government, has a strong friend,” he said.