This past spring, Ford eliminated 580 engineering jobs as it continues to reinvent itself for the forthcoming electrified era of automobiles, Â but that likely won’t be the last round of cuts made. In fact, Ford CEO Jim Farley recently noted that the company employs too many people, after which rumors of additional layoffs prompted Farley to address the situation with employees. Now, Ford Australia is trimming its contract workforce by 120 people, according to Car Expert.
Those job cuts will impact the automaker’s design and product development teams, though it is important to note that no permanent employees are affected – only contracted workers. The move will leave Ford Australia with a total workforce of around 2,300 people, though the automaker also noted that fluctuations in its contracted workforce are normal, as that part of the business changes regularly, particularly as the company prepares to enter the next phase of its product development cycle.
“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,” said a spokesperson for Ford Australia. “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.”
The Ford Australia lineup has certainly undergone its fair share of changes in recent months, with five electrified models set to launch in that country by 2024, including the Ford Escape PHEV and the Ford E-Transit. Both the Ford Focus and Ford Fiesta ST will no longer be exported to Australia, however, while the all-new, next-generation Ford Ranger, Ranger Raptor, and Ford Everest are proving quite popular there thus far.
We’ll have more on Ford’s Australian operations soon, so be sure and subscribe to Ford Authority for 24/7 Ford news coverage.
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