Ford Australia cuts 120 more engineering jobs

FORD Australia has confirmed that is has laid off 120 contractors from its product development and design teams, in line with global resilience plans.

The announcement comes as the Ranger and Everest hit showrooms around the country, ending a major product development cycle for the new models.

“In Australia, we’re reaching the next phase of our product development and launch cycle and as a result will be reducing our contract workforce by approximately 120 in our Product Development and Design teams,” said a Ford Australia spokesperson.

“Contract workforce levels regularly change at Ford, based on our product development cycle.”

The layoffs leave around 2300 employees at Ford Australia, made up of salaried staff, hourly and contract workers.

“Our team will continue to lead work on Ranger and Everest, as well as contributing extensively to global programs.”

Ford cited its global transformation ‘Ford+’ plans as the overarching reason for the cutbacks, with a focus on remaining competitive into the future.

“Ford is currently undergoing a global transformation, which includes implementing significant changes in priorities and organization consistent with the Ford+ plan for growth and value creation.

“As part of this, we have laid out clear targets to lower our cost structure to ensure we are lean and fully competitive with the best in the industry.”

As the global electric race continues to intensify, the Ford+ growth plan is centred around delivering a target of more than two million units by the end of 2026.

Ford recently announced a series of global sourcing agreements put in place to secure the battery and raw material requirements to reach its targeted annual run of 600,000 electric vehicles by late 2023, as well as providing 70 per cent of materials needed to reach more than two-million vehicles by the end of 2026.

It also recently cut 8000 salaried positions from its ICE division, Ford Blue, with Ford CEO Jim Farley stating: “We have too many people (and) this management team firmly believes that our ICE and BEV portfolios are under-earning.”

The car-maker’s 2026 target of more than two-million battery electric vehicles, if achieved, will represent EV growth of more than 90 per cent – exceeding the forecasted global growth rate for EVs.

Meanwhile, the new Ford Ranger has seen strong sales demand in Australia with more than 17,000 confirmed orders.

The chock-full order book has left Ford Australia scrambling to delivery pre-ordered vehicles, going as far as to air freight parts to fulfill demand.

Ford Australia also setup a website to help customers track vehicle availability, offering up-to-date information on wait times.

“We know prospective buyers and intending customers want accurate information and transparency about wait times and when their vehicle will arrive,” said Ford Australia and New Zealand president and CEO Andrew Birkic.

“This dedicated webpage will keep them informed but we’d also encourage customers to stay in contact with their dealers about the status of their vehicle.”

The vehicle availability website portal suggests eight-month wait times for the Wildtrak V6 models and a nine-month wait for the top-spec Ranger Raptor.