Ford to cut 400 of its 1800 Australian employees, majority in Geelong

Unions say the cuts will mostly affect workers at a Victoria plant as the multinational car manufacturer continues to trim domestic operations.

More than a fifth of Ford Australia’s workforce will be slashed as the car manufacturer continues to lighten domestic operations.

After Ford confirmed the jobs of around 400 of its 1800 Australian employees would be cut, union leaders said most of the impact would be felt at the Ford Geelong plant in Victoria.

“The majority of these will be in product development and design, with a small number in other functions,” Ford said in a statement.

“The changes are part of Ford’s global drive to improve efficiency and transform its operations to meet future needs.”

Ford has announced it will be cutting 400 jobs in Australia.Picture: NCA NewsWire / Damian Shaw

Unions have since blasted the move as “just another wave of the previous government’s destruction of the vehicle industry”.

The motoring giant said it had begun consultation with employees and unions on its intention to offer a “separation program” for the 400 staff affected.

The redundancies will be voluntary and will not take effect until September this year.

The Australian Manufacturing Workers’ Union (AMWU) said the announcement came as “disheartening news”.

AMWU vehicle industry co-ordinator Vince Pepi said of the 400 jobs affected, about 350 would be white-collar workers and 50-45 would be blue-collar workers.

“Unfortunately, most of the job losses will affect workers in the Geelong area,” he 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.

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

This comes eight months after Ford Australia cut 120 contract positions from 2300 staff, followed by a “voluntary separation program” earlier this year in which around 170 product development and design employees walked off the job.

The majority of the job cuts will occur at Victoria’s Geelong plant.Picture: NCA NewsWire / Damian Shaw

In August, Ford announced it would be cutting about 3000 jobs globally as it continued to transition to an electric vehicle fleet and downsize global operations over the past year.

The company also said on Thursday that “Australia will continue to be the centre of development for the Ranger and Everest globally”.

AMWU Victoria state secretary Tony Mavromatis said unions were now calling on the government “to invest in and support” the future manufacturing of electric vehicles.

Originally published as Ford to cut 400 of its 1800 Australian employees, majority in Geelong