HOBSONS Bay’s biggest employer, Toyota’s Altona manufacturing plant, is in the process of hiring 140 workers in the wake of Ford’s announcement that 1200 jobs will go in 2016.
The news came just over a year after 350 production line workers were made redundant at the Altona plant, with the company citing a reasons “including the high Australian dollar” and the workforce being “too big for the number of cars that need to be built”.
Ford president and CEO Bob Graziano last week announced that manufacturing was “no longer viable for Ford in Australia in the long-term”.
He said Ford would close its Broadmeadows and Geelong plants in 2016, blaming a $600million loss for the company over the past five years.
Toyota Australia spokesman Glenn Campbell this week said the company was experiencing an increase in demand for locally built vehicles.
“This is predominantly due to additional orders from our export markets,” he said.
“As a result, we have just hired 70 temporary employees to assist us during this busy period and are in the process of hiring another 70.”
Toyota last year became the first Australian manufacturer to produce petrol and hybrid engines.
Last year, Toyota opened its AR engine plant at Altona, with 108,000 engines to be produced this year for models including the Camry hybrid.
“This created new export markets for us, with approximately 16,000 engines to be exported to Thailand and Malaysia this year,” Mr Campbell said.
“The company is now 15 months into a five-year transformation project in response to external challenges including the high Australian dollar, intense market competition and the high cost of materials.
“The objective of the project is to lay a solid foundation for future growth in Australia.
“We have every intention of continuing to build cars in Australia.
“Yes, the industry is currently facing challenges, but we are doing everything we can to overcome these challenges and strengthen our business. Our approach to business is to do what we can to help ourselves first.
“This is why we are so dedicated to our five-year strategy to transform our business.”
Mr Campbell said Toyota needed to consider the impact of Ford’s decision on its supply network.
