No Geelong worker at big farewell

GEELONG workers will not attend a Broadmeadows production line farewell to Ford manufacturing in Australia.

Company leaders had planned for hundreds of workers to join Melbourne colleagues for the October 7 ceremony. 2013, and down from a peak of

But the company said this 4249 in 1985. week plans had changed due to At least 150 Geelong emresponse from the factory ployees will finish work on or floor. about October 7. About a fur

“The team actually prefers ther 160 from Broadmeadows to stay in Geelong, which is and mainly Geelong will be reunderstandable, so we’re just deployed into product develworking with them to broadopment, customer service and cast the final production into other areas. the plant,” Ford Australia Mr Sherwood said 45 emspokesman Wes Sherwood ployees from Geelong and said yesterday. Broadmeadows had negotiat

“That makes sense ... to ed early finishes to go to other want to be where they’ve been work or retirement. for so many years.” About 120 employees from

Like all of the company’s both Geelong and Broadmeadw winding down of Australian ows would have temporary manufacturing, after 95 years work with prototype builds in Geelong, the event will be and plant decommissioning b behind closed doors. forecast to take several years.

Federal Member for Corio Ford previously said it Richard R th the end Marlesof manufacturingacknowledged Rt until would the maintainlast day, but productionimages of needed eln ely but to Fordbe handledalso needed sensitivne to Geelongthe last engines reached assembledsocial mediain recognise its magnitude in on Monday. Geelong. Mr Marles was among

“This is a moment of such many caught by surprise and significance that the communlabelled it “a huge moment in ity deserves for the story to be time”. told properly, and Ford have to “For about half of our life as play their part in that,” Mr a city, manufacturing has been Marles said. a huge part of Geelong’s ident

Ford says about 300 workity and making cars by the ers remain at the Geelong Ford Motor Company has plant, down from about 510 been probably the centrepiece when bombshell news of the of that manufacturing endeavshutdown was announced in our,” Mr Marles said.

“We will and are doing other things but there is something very sad about the idea that cars won’t be made in Geelong any more.”

About 200 workers gathered on Monday for the last engine salute.

Mr Sherwood was unable to predict how many would attend on October 7.

“It’s a very emotional period, it’s going to be a very appropriate private discussion,” Mr Sherwood said.

Australian Manufacturing Workers’ Union vehicles division regional secretary Paul Difelice said he could not fault Ford’s handling of workers during the closing down process.

“Everything humanly possible, not only in Geelong but Broadmeadows, has been done from the union and the company working with the union,” Mr Difelice said.

He believed the company had deliberately kept its last manufacturing weeks low key.

“It’s an emotional time for the people. They call it lockdown period, it’s something where no one comes in or out, media, nothing. I think it’s also done to protect the brand,” he said.

Mr Sherwood said the engine plant had gone into ‘warm idle’ in preparation for decommissioning and public access to the Ford site had been restricted since August.

He said the more than 200 workers gone since 2013 had either taken redundancy offers, been redeployed, retired or moved on to other work.

“It’s a very emotional period, it’s going to be a very appropriate private discussion.”