Ford Australia set to sack 250 factory workers at Broadmeadows and Geelong plants

FORD Australia is preparing to sack hundreds of workers in Broadmeadows and Geelong due to falling demand for the Falcon sedan and Territory SUV.

Ford workers at Broadmeadows factory with car 001 (of a batch of 500 for Australia) of the last ever Falcon GT. June 2014. Photo: Supplied

FORD Australia is poised to sack 250 factory workers in Broadmeadows and Geelong as the company slows its production line to match falling demand for the Ford Falcon sedan and Territory SUV.

As of this week, Ford has been building cars at a rate of 83 per day — down from 133 a day at the start of the year and more than 500 cars per day in the 1990s — as it announced in February.

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At the time Ford also said it would offer 300 workers redundancy packages, but so far only 50 have applied voluntarily.

“There will be compulsory redundancies this month,” Ford Australia spokesman Wes Sherwood told News Corp Australia.

“About 50 workers have applied for voluntary redundancies but … there will be about 300 employee separations this year. Most of those (redundancies) will occur this month.”

News Corp Australia has been told by workers on the Broadmeadows car assembly line and in the Geelong engine plant that many are waiting for a compulsory redundancy because the payout figure is higher.

Ford currently employs about 1100 factory workers at both sites but, once the latest round of redundancies occur, it will leave 450 at Broadmeadows and 350 at Geelong.

Bittersweet ... Ford has unveiled its “best Falcon GT ever” as production slows to 83 cars a day.

The last time Ford forced workers to take a redundancy package was in October 2012, when 212 staff were sacked after only 118 put their hand up for a package.

At the time it was Ford’s first forced redundancy in 15 years.

The news comes in the same week as Ford unveiled its last ever Falcon GT, dubbed by critics as “the best ever”.

The first batch of 500 supercharged V8 sedans are due to arrive in Australian showrooms next month, ahead of an updated Falcon in September.

While the job losses take Ford Australia’s employee numbers to a new low, the company says it does not expect further cuts and will make it all the way to the planned factory closure date in October 2016, providing sales don’t slide even further.

Speaking at the launch of the last Falcon GT this week, the boss of Ford Australia Bob Graziano told News Corp he was optimistic the company would make it to the 2016 deadline.

Sales of the locally-made Ford Falcon sedan and Territory SUV have plateaued since Ford announced 12 months ago it was ending manufacturing in Australia.

So far this year, Falcon sales are down 23 per cent and Territory sales are down by 34 per cent.

But when asked by News Corp if the current production rate was sustainable all the way to the end, the boss of Ford Australia, Bob Graziano, said: “Yes.”

When asked if there was any cause for concern about an early closure, Mr Graziano said: “no”.

The man of few words said it was always Ford’s plan to go the distance, but the picture had become clearer in recent months and that the current output was enough to the keep the factory running.

“There is no change to the plan,” said Mr Graziano said, adding that the Falcon and Territory were selling relatively well compared to other vehicles in their segments.

Sellout success ... all 500 Ford Falcon GT-Fs have been sold to dealers.

Ford’s optimistic outlook will come as a relief to Holden and Toyota because all three car companies are dependent on each other given that they all sources parts from common suppliers.

To that end, Ford has taken the unprecedented step of inviting its rivals to its internal supplier forums.

“I’m very proud of what the Ford Motor Company has been able to do,” said Mr Graziano, who also highlighted the regular jobs forums it was hosting for the 1300 or so workers who will be made redundant by October 2016.

Mr Graziano said Ford is well progressed with new model updates to the Falcon and Territory, due in September this year.

This reporter on Twitter: @JoshuaDowling