FORD’S Geelong plant will shut down this Friday as the company meets workers individually to spell out their fate under a latest redundancy program.
The initial redundancy target of 440 across Ford’s Geelong and Broadmeadows plants has fallen to 330 after redeployments across the business.
Staff have taken up 118 voluntary packages, leaving 212 involuntary job losses in a split of roughly 40:60 between Geelong and Broadmeadows respectively.
Staff sources described the number to go against their will in Geelong as “considerably less’’ than initially proposed.
But the 40:60 ratio would equate to about 80 unwanted layoffs at the North Geelong plant.
Ford staffers told the Independent Ford arranged the private meetings to avoid unhappy groups massing together.
Management declined to comment on Friday’s sackings other than to say the private meetings were organised at the request of workers.
Ford declined to specify the numbers of workers to be laid off voluntarily or involuntarily in Geelong.
Ford and unions were thrashing out the details of redundancy packages at Fair Work Australia as the Independent went to press.
Ford will reduce its production schedule from 209 units to 148 across all models, in line with its reduced workforce.
The auto-maker’s redundancies come a week after Qantas announced another 250 heavy maintenance job cuts at Avalon Airport following completion of work on nine of the carrier’s 747-400 jumbo aircraft.
Earlier this year Qantas cut more than 100 jobs at Avalon. The latest round of layoffs will halve the engineering workforce at Avalon to around 340.
Ford faces an uncertain future as sales of its flagship Falcon continue to decline despite growth in Territory sales.
Industry observers such as Wheels magazine have suggested that Ford is doomed in Geelong and Broadmeadows despite government assistance to maintain operations until 2016.
Hopes for the Geelong plant lie heavily with the company’s product development operations and their usefulness in the brand’s global operations.
