Ford job cuts unlikely to involve Thailand operations

Ford job cuts unlikely to involve Thailand operations

The announcement made by Ford yesterday that it will be cutting around 10% of its salaried workforce worldwide is not expected to have an impact on Ford Thailand, The Bangkok Post reports.

An unnamed source told the publication that the automaker’s operations in the Kingdom was already lean at the moment, the company having been made aware of the situation some time back. The source added that if the brand is able to maintain both domestic and export demand for the Ranger and Everest, its two primary builds there, there should be virtually no impact to Thai operations.

“Production of passenger cars is very small now due to ageing products. New replacements are still hanging in the balance. If they can counter this by increasing production of pickups and SUVs, there will be an impact, but we hope it will be minimal,” the source said.

Ford’s main production hub in ASEAN is in Thailand. The automaker has two plants located in Rayong, which has a combined build capacity of 315,000 units per year. These assemble the Ranger, Everest, EcoSport, Fiesta and Focus hatchbacks for both domestic and export markets.

In 2016, Ford sales in Thailand amounted to 40,972 vehicles, which was a 12.4% increase over the previous year. The Ranger formed the bulk of sales with 30,756 units, an increase of 29% from 2015, followed by the Everest, which sold 7,111 units.

Focus sales for 2016 dropped by 44%, with 525 units sold last year. Fiesta sales went down by nearly 87%, with sales amounting to only 409 units in 2016. The automaker also has an assembly plant in Vietnam, which produces 20,000 units annually.

Ford’s downsizing of its salaried workforce will involve a total of 1,400 non-factory jobs in North America and Asia, with separation packages being offered to employees in a bid to encourage them to take up a voluntary departure. About two-thirds of the buyout offers will involve North America, with the rest being in Asia.

Declining sales in the US and poor performing share – which has gone down by 40% since July 2014 – have brought about the need for such action. The company had announced last month it was planning to cut costs by around US$3 billion this year.

Looking to sell your car? Sell it with Carro.

Certified Pre-Owned - 1 Year Warranty

10% discount when you renew your car insurance

Compare prices between different insurer providers and use the promo code 'PAULTAN10' when you make your payment to save the most on your car insurance renewal compared to other competing services.

Car Insurance

Anthony Lim

Anthony Lim believes that nothing is better than a good smoke and a car with character, with good handling aspects being top of the prize heap. Having spent more than a decade and a half with an English tabloid daily never being able to grasp the meaning of brevity or being succinct, he wags his tail furiously at the idea of waffling - in greater detail - about cars and all their intrinsic peculiarities here.

 

Comments

  • Lucky Ford no operasi in MY. Otherwise, potong here sure bashers will bash Gov.

    Like or Dislike: Thumb up 2 Thumb down 1
    • YB Kunta Kinte on May 19, 2017 at 1:56 pm

      At least they potong to save money. Some car companies guarantee jobs for life despite losing money daily in the tune of millions

      Like or Dislike: Thumb up 2 Thumb down 2
 

Add a comment

required

required