As many as half of the workers made redundant by Ford’s factory closures on Friday will be unemployed, according to sources within the company.
News Corp reports that 600 workers will finish their shifts for the last time when the Geelong and Broadmeadows factories officially shut. The last car will be made on Friday at Broadmeadows, following the last six-cylinder and V8 engines being made last week at Geelong.
Tony Casebas, a manufacturing team leader with 27 years’ experience at the car maker, told News Corp, “I fear anywhere from up to a third or half of the workers who leave here won’t get a job. The whole industry is shutting down. So similar jobs to what they’re doing just aren’t there.”
Another estimate comes from former Labor industry minister Kim Carr, who said the jobs situation would be similar to other manufacturing shutdowns: a third of workers unemployed, a third underemployed and a third finding jobs.
The average redundancy payout, according to the article, was roughly $150,000.
Ford announced in May 2013 that it would end car manufacturing this year. Announcements that Holden and Toyota would do the same followed.
Ford has said it reassigned 160 line workers to engineering and design roles, and will keep 1,100 workers employed after Friday.
The company will keep its Australian R&D centre, Lara proving grounds, its Geelong R&D centre, and Engineering Centre and Design Centre in Campbellfield open, and these will be used to develop Ford vehicles for Asia Pacific.