Ford slammed

By Belinda Nolan, 21st October 2008 Independent

FORD workers have slammed management for the way it announced plans to slash jobs at its Broadmeadows plant.

The multinational car maker last Thursday confirmed rumours when it announced it will slash 450 jobs.

In addition to the cuts, company president Martin Burela revealed more down days in production meaning staff will only be working between two and three days a week until the end of the year.

The company’s Campbellfield head office has yet to confirm how many jobs will go from its plants at Broadmeadows and Geelong.

One worker, who did not wish to be named, criticised the way Ford had handled the situation.

“There has been very little communication. You hear more about it on the radio. You hear about it first in the media, then the next day they actually tell you,” he said.

The worker said the news had delivered a crushing blow to his workmates, many of whom were facing the prospect of Christmas unemployed.

“The morale here is very low at the moment,” he said.“All the down days are having an effect on people. It’s pretty depressing.”

The man said many workers feared not only for their jobs but the pressure it would put on their families.“

So far it hasn’t affected me but it probably will in the future.

You do have to worry about it, especially if you have a family.”Mr Burela defended the company’s decision, saying the current economic crisis had left Ford with little choice but to make the cuts to ensure it could continue to operate profitably into the future.

“This is a proactive step to position ourselves for strength,” Mr Burela said.“The reality is it’s something we need to do to move forward in the marketplace.“We don’t take these steps and these actions lightly but we are committed to working with our employees and our union partners to provide a smooth transition for our people as we move forward,” Mr Burela said.“However, we do need to take these steps. The steps are necessary actions to right-size the business to ensure that we can operate and operate effectively in a very dynamic and changing marketplace here in Australia.”

The new revelations came following an August announcement that the company would cull up to 350 jobs at its Broadmeadows and Geelong factories starting in November.

The announcement brings the total job cuts at Ford to 1400 over two years.

Australian Manufacturing Workers’ Union Victorian secretary Steve Dargavel said the news was disappointing.“This is a very sad day for manufacturing,” Mr Dargavel said.Mr Dargavel said the cuts, along with the down days, were a massive blow for the 4700 Victorian workers employed by Ford.

He said the union was working on an arrangement with the company, to allow workers to use their accrued leave to try to absorb some of the down days but the solution would not help everyone.