Ford to slash jobs months after bailout

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Australian Broadcasting Corporation

Broadcast: 17/07/2012

Reporter: Hamish Fitzsimmons

Ford has cut 440 jobs just months after a $100 million bailout but says it is committed to building cars in Australia.


EMMA ALBERICI, PRESENTER: Just months after a $100 million bailout, Ford Australia today slashed 440 jobs from its Geelong and Broadmeadows plants in Victoria.

Despite the cuts, Ford says it's still committed to building cars in Australia.

The Victorian and Federal governments are defending their earlier decision to bail out Ford, but say there'll be no more money on the table for the automotive industry.

From Melbourne, Hamish Fitzsimmons reports.

HAMISH FITZSIMMONS, REPORTER: Ford was already making savings by reducing workers' hours.

FORD EMPLOYEE: We've been having a lot of down days, so we're working four days for the last six months.

FORD EMPLOYEE II: I mean, it's something everybody expected. So, what do you do?

HAMISH FITZSIMMONS: Now there'll be fewer workers making fewer cars. From November daily production will drop from 209 cars a day to 148 as the company slashes costs and staff.

BOB GRAZIANO, FORD AUSTRALIA CHIEF EXECUTIVE: Unfortunately the job cuts today are a result of a continued decline in the demand for large vehicles.

HAMISH FITZSIMMONS: Questions are being asked why Ford is doing this after receiving a $103 million bailout in January, half of which came from federal and state coffers.

JULIA GILLARD, PRIME MINISTER: Yes, we've seen these job losses today and that's very sad news, but if we hadn't stepped forward to work with Ford, we would be talking about job losses in their thousands.

TED BAILLIEU, VICTORIAN PREMIER: They've had to make some adjustments; that's their commercial decision. But they remain committed to the arrangements entered into in January and we would expect them to meet those.

DAVE OLIVER, ACTU SECRETARY: The announcement itself that 440 jobs are going to go has come quite as a shock to the workers today.

HAMISH FITZSIMMONS: Ford says co-investment between with the governments works and there are much wider implications for the economy.

BOB GRAZIANO: If you look at what the automotive industry contributes to Australia, it's in excess of $10 billion of tax revenue, almost 400,000 employees, both direct and indirect, that work in automotive.

HAMISH FITZSIMMONS: It seems Canberra has put the hand break on handouts for the time being.

GREG COMBET, FEDERAL INDUSTRY MINISTER: I'm not committing any funds at this point in time to anything additional. We've got $5.4 billion committed through to 2020 with the auto industry.

HAMISH FITZSIMMONS: Victoria's once-dominant manufacturing sector is reeling from thousands of job losses in the last year. The State Government is being asked what it's planning to do to stem the flow.

DANIEL ANDREWS, VICTORIAN OPPOSITION LEADER: I've said for 18 months now: if you've got no jobs plan, then no job is safe. And that's exactly what we're seeing, whether it's with Qantas, Ford the first time, Ford again today, Toyota - the list goes on and on.

HAMISH FITZSIMMONS: And the Federal Government moved to quickly to head off any suggestion the carbon tax drove Ford's decision.

GREG COMBET: The answer is that it hasn't. I spoke with the CEO of Ford last night about that issue and he had a single answer to the predictable question and proposition from the Coalition on this issue and that answer was no.

HAMISH FITZSIMMONS: And as for the feeling on the factory floor ...

FORD EMPLOYEE II: Pretty sombre, yes. Not too good.

HAMISH FITZSIMMONS: Hamish Fitzsimmons, Lateline.


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