Automotive giant Ford will slash almost a quarter of its Australian workforce, with Geelong to be hit by hundreds of job losses again, almost a decade after car manufacturing left Victoria during the mid-2010s.
Ford Australia said in a statement this week it had begun consultation with employees and unions to offer a “separation program” for about 400 employees – equating to about 22 per cent of its 1800-strong workforce in Australia.“The majority of these will be in product development and design, with a small number in other functions,” Ford Australia’s statement said.
Australian Manufacturing Workers Union Vehicle Industry co-ordinator Vince Pepi said the news was “disheartening”, noting the redundancies would be voluntary, wouldn’t take effect until September and would mainly hit Geelong.“Currently, we estimate that around 400 jobs will be affected, with approximately 350 of those being white-collar workers and 50 to 45 being blue-collar workers,” Pepi said.
“Australia will continue to be the centre of development for the Ranger and Everest globally,” the carmaker’s statement said.Geelong and Melbourne’s northern suburb of Broadmeadows were industrial hubs home to key Ford factories before
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