Ford plans to shut all Australian production by 2016

[The Straight Story]

US car giant Ford Motor will shut all its Australian manufacturing plants by October 2016, after more than 85 years of making vehicles in the country.

About 1,200 workers are expected to lose their jobs from the Broadmeadows and Geelong plants, in Victoria state.

Ford said its Australian operations had lost A$600m ($580m; £385m) over the last five years.

The strength of the Australian dollar has made manufacturing more expensive, while sales have been under pressure.

"Our costs are double that of Europe and nearly four times Ford in Asia," Bob Graziano, the chief executive of Ford Australia, said. "The business case simply did not stack up."

He added that "manufacturing is not viable for Ford in Australia in the long-term".

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-22634653

[HiPointDem]

1. the australian resource & real estate bubbles are popping & big capital is going to put the

squeeze on, just like everywhere else.

it's a rolling class war...

[MADem]

2. That's a shame; Ford will become an "imported" car now.

They've been there since 1925. I think it's a shame to lose the tradition as well as the jobs.

[Deep13]

3. boo!!! nt

[coldmountain]

4. GM will be next. It's so much cheaper to make them in China or Thailand