Ford Australia will produce its last car ever this morning, with pictures of “The Last Falcon Sedan” appearing on a Ford Facebook fan page.
Nine.com.au reports that the car is expected to be finished at 10 am at Broadmeadows, as the company ends its Australian manufacturing operations today. It produced its last engines at Geelong last week.
About 580 workers will finish their jobs with the factory shutdown today, marking the end of 91 years of production in Australia. The Geelong factory opened in 1925, and the Broadmeadows site in 1959.
The employment prospects of many workers are uncertain, according to the union representing them.
The AMWU’s Dave Smith has said there aren’t enough jobs around to ensure work for everybody.
“These job losses couldn’t come at a worse time for these workers, many of whom will struggle to find work,” AAP reports the union’s national vehicle division secretary Dave Smith as saying.
Meanwhile, Ford’s Australian chief executive, Graeme Whickman, has declined to blame the elevated Australian dollar during the height of the resources boom for the end of manufacturing.
The car maker announced in May 2013 that it would not continue manufacturing in Australia.
“Our focus has been around the transition and you’ve seen the industry react, you’ve seen Toyota and also Holden make decisions on an industry wide level with the same sort of information that they face around their business,” he told ABC’s The Business.
Both Holden and Toyota will end their Australian manufacturing operations next year.