Ford Australia To Close ...

[David48]

Ford Australia to close Broadmeadows and Geelong plants, 1,200 jobs to go

Ford Australia says it will close its Australian manufacturing plants in October 2016, with the loss of hundreds of jobs. Ford president Bob Graziano said approximately 1,200 workers would lose their jobs when the Broadmeadows and Geelong plants were shut down.

He made the announcement in Melbourne this morning after announcing that the company had lost $141 million over the last financial year - taking losses over the past five years to more than $600 million. "Our costs are double that of Europe and nearly four times Ford in Asia," Mr Graziano said.

Here

So ... for any enthusiasts who own the Ford Product in Thailand and have an Australian built vehicle ... maybe look to secure those parts now that you might need into the future.

[bdenner]

And I wouldn't be getting my self into debt if I was employed by GMH either.

[IMHO]

Time to cancel those Territory orders!

[Ace of Pop]

So we can look forward to cheaper Fords. Labour is 4 times less,said The Graz.

[anon210]

So we can look forward to cheaper Fords. Labour is 4 times less,said The Graz.

Actually... No! Higher profit margin for Ford, yeah, but certainly not cheaper Fords.

[Jitar]

Cost comparisons are tenuous in highly political situations like this. No doubt costs for Ford to manufacture in Australia will be high because of the usual reasons, (AU dollar, mining boom pushing up wages, etc), but Ford have not helped themselves by continuing to rely on only the Falcon and Territory as locally manufactured products. Sadly for them, Australians do not want buy these in large enough quantities to support local production.

I wonder if GMH has a better plan? In the first quarter, Sales for the Falcon / Territory were 2,500 / 3,500 and Holden shifted 5,000 Commodores. While sales are no better, Holden have been better at getting handouts (Like GM in the US). The question is can they survive even if most of the future Falcon buyers turn to the Commodore?

[BSJ]

And they still suck on the government tit till the very end. The stupid government should cut the subsidies now!

[culicine]

Well that would spell the death of the iconic falcon. Wonder if there is any chance is could be manufactured in Thailand or another country for export back to Australia. I'm guessing this wouldn't be a viable option due to the already small sales, which seems to be the trend for larger motors these days.

[David48]

Well that would spell the death of the iconic falcon. Wonder if there is any chance is could be manufactured in Thailand or another country for export back to Australia. I'm guessing this wouldn't be a viable option due to the already small sales, which seems to be the trend for larger motors these days.

No, I heard in an interview the CEO saying that the Iconic FALCON name will be 'retired'

.

[IMHO]

And they still suck on the government tit till the very end. The stupid government should cut the subsidies now!

The handouts were/are a just the governments way of saying "sorry we didn't control our economy correctly, and make your business unviable"..

[BSJ]

And they still suck on the government tit till the very end. The stupid government should cut the subsidies now!

The handouts were/are a just the governments way of saying "sorry we didn't control our economy correctly, and make your business unviable"..

Well the argument has always been Australia has too small a population to support a manufacturing base. But lets go back to when I was a kid, a time when industries had tariff protection and anyone could get a job. The country was doing well, people who worked got paid a reasonable wage and their taxes were lower, there was no shortage of products to buy. Then the idiot government starts cutting tariffs and the next thing you know is most of the people in 'clothing footwear and textiles' are out of work! Then we get 'The Button plan' and that is what has put the nails in the coffin of the auto industry.

Remember when you could buy an Aussie TV? Remember when you could buy an Aussie computer? Hell, most of the furniture in the shops is made overseas! And unemployment and under employed today, what's the true figure? 900,000, 1,000,000, 1,500,000?

Yer, governments been a real help haven't they.

[Ace of Pop]

Your Government should have been based in Bathhurst,and run by Allan Grice and Peter Brock,not lefty Folk!!. Yer Rotary Clothes Lines still sell O.K.

[wilcopops]

looks like Holden handouts might end too.

[keemapoot]

Yup, GM is exiting Australia too, and this article claims Toyota is likely to close up shop too.

With GM now also planning to close up shop in a few years, it will be even harder for Toyota to continue auto production in Australia. Moreover, with the yen having plummeted more than 30% against the U.S. dollar and more than 40% against the euro since the fall of 2012, Japan is suddenly a much more attractive location to build cars. As a result, it's hard to imagine Toyota going to great lengths to keep its Australian factories open.

The Australian auto industry is an anachronism: In today's globalized economy, it simply doesn't make economic sense to produce cars in such a small, isolated, and fragmented market. GM's exit from Australian production was bound to happen eventually, and investors should be glad that the General isn't prolonging its pain.

http://www.fool.com/investing/general/2013/12/16/general-motors-company-to-follow-ford-out-of-austr.aspx

[Cylon]

Holden doomed as well. I think the unions need to take some blame for that too.