Ford to shed 240 local jobs, cut production as demand slumps

[gtfpv]

Very interesting article about this in today's - Sundays telegraph . page 102 . about the death of manufacturing in Australia , i did not know the the massive SHELL oil refinery at Clyde - Sydney was shutting its doors also . Very disheartening . I DON'T KNOW WHAT THE LEADERS OF THIS COUNTRY HAVE PLANNED FOR US . If anybody knows . please shed some light , because i am stumped !!!!!

[Buntz]

Originally Posted by Barraxr8

No a 'trying' rocket scientist that drives an ED Falcon .....

I HAVE TOLD YOU NOTHING!!!!

[Joe5619]

Originally Posted by Barraxr8

6 Non production (down) days in each of May, June, & July. Prior to downbalance which starts July 12.

This next week is all 'down' also.

That is not good.. When in gods names are they going to built the new Territ?? You can't sell waht you dont built!!

[jpd80]

Originally Posted by Joe5619

That is not good.. When in gods names are they going to built the new Territ?? You can't sell waht you dont built!!

There's still a huge back log of Falcon sedans, hence XR6 for $34,990 drive away
so I guess all efforts would be turned towards building stock for new Territory launch.

[Bossxr8]

Originally Posted by Joe5619

That is not good.. When in gods names are they going to built the new Territ?? You can't sell waht you dont built!!

We have been building them for over a month and stockpiling them at the factory ready to be sent to dealers, which I think started last week.

With Falcon being so over produced there's nothing they can do about Territory numbers, cause they can't just suddenly build nothing but Territorys. I believe you have to build 2 Falcons for every Territory, so keeping the plant running for 5 days a week will just result in a heap more Falcons they can't move.

I think this will result in a waiting list for Territory, and with a huge oversupply of Falcon this is not a good situation, but there's not much they can do, at least until the LPi comes on line.

[Jason[98.EL]]

Originally Posted by Bossxr8

We have been building them for over a month and stockpiling them at the factory ready to be sent to dealers, which I think started last week.

With Falcon being so over produced there's nothing they can do about Territory numbers, cause they can't just suddenly build nothing but Territorys. I believe you have to build 2 Falcons for every Territory, so keeping the plant running for 5 days a week will just result in a heap more Falcons they can't move.

I think this will result in a waiting list for Territory, and with a huge oversupply of Falcon this is not a good situation, but there's not much they can do, at least until the LPi comes on line.

I think they need to get the LPi on line now as well as the eco 4 cyl

[Bossxr8]

We should start building them late next month.

[Smoke Pursuit]

Can't understand why they cant just go to a Territory only production for a few months... Thats the whole idea of JIT inventory... but I know they are contracted to take a certain amount of Falcon parts each month which is probably why.

[robbo/region15]

Originally Posted by Barraxr8

6 Non production (down) days in each of May, June, & July. Prior to downbalance which starts July 12.

This next week is all 'down' also.

We received the hastily put together Calendar on Friday [15th]
18 down days in May ,June.July-7 down days in first week thereabouts....
Our management was holding a crisis meeting on Friday arvo,interesting what happens @ 7.00am tomorow morning.......
Dont Quote me on this ,as we were all in shellshock mode.

[jpd80]

Originally Posted by robbo/region15

We received the hastily put together Calendar on Friday [15th]
18 down days in May ,June.July-7 down days in first week thereabouts....
Our management was holding a crisis meeting on Friday arvo,interesting what happens @ 7.00am tomorow morning.......
Dont Quote me on this ,as we were all in shellshock mode.

Please let us know what happens on Monday, I know a lot of us are
concerned about the people that work at our Favorite car plant...

[robbo/region15]

Yeah,no problem mate.We have a bad feeling about this!We dont want to follow suit,unlike Ford,our EBA doesnt cater for 70 %? pay for forced down days ,we have to use Annual leave.Which we've done since 2008,GFC,just see what happens & roll with it ,i guess.

[vztrt]

Originally Posted by DASH GT

Can't understand why they cant just go to a Territory only production for a few months... Thats the whole idea of JIT inventory... but I know they are contracted to take a certain amount of Falcon parts each month which is probably why.

There is also an issue with the time it takes to build a terri compared to a Falcon at each station. This is where the wagon was a good little unit. I guess with 206 over 5 days might help with this issue.

[jpd80]

Originally Posted by robbo/region15

Yeah,no problem mate.We have a bad feeling about this!We dont want to follow suit,unlike Ford,our EBA doesnt cater for 70 %? pay for forced down days ,we have to use Annual leave.Which we've done since 2008,GFC,just see what happens & roll with it ,i guess.

Well fingers crossed that management does the right thing by their workers.
Any sort of disruption to the three local plants is never good for the industry
as a whole, I hope managers look beyond these few quiet months and get
everyone back to work and earning money.

[Joe5619]

I'll start but saying I have no idea how cars are built…. But if they wanted to build up Territ numbers without building up Falcon numbers can't they run gaps in the build mix? By his I mean every 2nd or 3rd time a Falcon is meant to be built it is left blank through the whole process. I know this would mean employees would be standing around doing nothing at times, but this still has to be better than paying then 50% pay to stay at home?

[Polyal]

Originally Posted by Bossxr8

We have been building them for over a month and stockpiling them at the factory ready to be sent to dealers, which I think started last week.

With Falcon being so over produced there's nothing they can do about Territory numbers, cause they can't just suddenly build nothing but Territorys. I believe you have to build 2 Falcons for every Territory, so keeping the plant running for 5 days a week will just result in a heap more Falcons they can't move.

I think this will result in a waiting list for Territory, and with a huge oversupply of Falcon this is not a good situation, but there's not much they can do, at least until the LPi comes on line.

I appreciate that a production system is in place, but with the way the market can change so fast and modern scheduling processes I would have thought the current spec is a very odd/old way of producing.

Why is there a a need for this ratio? DASH makes a good point about contracts on parts etc but surely your better off storing parts in a shed then leaving cars out the back. Parts are alot easier to reuse/recycle if not used aswell.

[jpd80]

Originally Posted by Polyal

I appreciate that a production system is in place, but with the way the market can change so fast and modern scheduling processes I would have thought the current spec is a very odd/old way of producing.

Why is there a a need for this ratio? DASH makes a good point about contracts on parts etc but surely your better off storing parts in a shed then leaving cars out the back. Parts are alot easier to reuse/recycle if not used aswell.

It sounds like a lot of the parts are delivered just in time so Ford does not need a lot of storage space,
it could well be that with long lead contracts there is an obligation to take minimum amounts of parts
at regular supply dates in order to avoid penalties, I think this was discussed a while back regarding
the VE and two shift contract obligations ( a different situation i know) but it sounds like Ford is
locked into a certain product mix for the foreseeable future...

[Polyal]

Originally Posted by jpd80

It sounds like a lot of the parts are delivered just in time so Ford does not need a lot of storage space,
it could well be that with long lead contracts there is an obligation to take minimum amounts of parts
at regular supply dates in order to avoid penalties, I think this was discussed a while back regarding
the VE and two shift contract obligations ( a different situation i know) but it sounds like Ford is
locked into a certain product mix for the foreseeable future...

That type of situation is just plain retarded.

But still, surely your better off storing parts than building cars and letting them sit, then have a fire sales and then hammer the resale of the cars you sold to willing customers

[Smoke Pursuit]

Originally Posted by jpd80

It sounds like a lot of the parts are delivered just in time so Ford does not need a lot of storage space,
it could well be that with long lead contracts there is an obligation to take minimum amounts of parts
at regular supply dates in order to avoid penalties, I think this was discussed a while back regarding
the VE and two shift contract obligations ( a different situation i know) but it sounds like Ford is
locked into a certain product mix for the foreseeable future...

Correct.

Storing parts is a big no no.. you have issues with warranties supplied by 3rd parties etc etc. You cant physically just start storing stuff, it just screws the whole process up and I would say they are locked in for atleast 3 months prior.

They must be shitting themselves with FG at the moment, stock piling them with no movement in the forseable future.. $29,990 XR6's anyone? They are their own worse enimies to, I tried to get an XR6 / XR6 Turbo ute with Luxury pack, and they do not have one single XR ute sitting on the grass in melbourne with Luxury pack? Wtf!! Build some cars with some options for hells sake, not everyone wants a standard XR6 with 17 inch alloys and povo sound. Build them all with 18's and premo sound and do promo on them. The VEII SV6 is ahead of XR6 now, 18's, colour screen, reverse park assist etc. etc.

[SEZ213]

Originally Posted by DASH GT

Correct.

Storing parts is a big no no.. you have issues with warranties supplied by 3rd parties etc etc. You cant physically just start storing stuff, it just screws the whole process up and I would say they are locked in for atleast 3 months prior.

I'll second that - there are definite minimum requirements when ordering stock. Ordering things in as one off's is not even an option in industry, unless you're prepared to pay a premium. Dependent on where the stock comes from, will depend on the lead time required. Aluminium/steel providers can wait up to 9 months for stock, it takes a second to order it, but to make it and wait for it to be shipped from it's originating location (usually overseas)...can equal a nightmare to a business. The demand planners/strategic inventory guys would be working their butts off. Days of stock need to be kept at a minimum because at the end of the day, all that stock costs money - it's incredibly hard to post any kind of profit if you have a warehouse full of components and no finished products...

[Polyal]

Originally Posted by Sezzy

I'll second that - there are definite minimum requirements when ordering stock. Ordering things in as one off's is not even an option in industry, unless you're prepared to pay a premium. Dependent on where the stock comes from, will depend on the lead time required. Aluminium/steel providers can wait up to 9 months for stock, it takes a second to order it, but to make it and wait for it to be shipped from it's originating location (usually overseas)...can equal a nightmare to a business. The demand planners/strategic inventory guys would be working their butts off. Days of stock need to be kept at a minimum because at the end of the day, all that stock costs money - it's incredibly hard to post any kind of profit if you have a warehouse full of components and no finished products...

Yeah Im not saying Ford should buy 100 parts from each supplier...I know exactly what they supplier would say if there wasnt already a contract.

What I mean was when it comes to ford building the things "simply" leave the falcon parts in the bin. Yes you will get a surplus of parts but my assumption was this then means you dont have cars sitting out the back collecting dust and loosing value each day they are there.

Then when the demand picks up you use those "old" parts until you hopefully catch up to where you were.

I know things are not that simple, but I find it rather shocking that Ford "have" to build cars that no one wants...its not good for anyone.

[Smoke Pursuit]

Originally Posted by Polyal

Yeah Im not saying Ford should buy 100 parts from each supplier...I know exactly what they supplier would say if there wasnt already a contract.

What I mean was when it comes to ford building the things "simply" leave the falcon parts in the bin. Yes you will get a surplus of parts but my assumption was this then means you dont have cars sitting out the back collecting dust and loosing value each day they are there.

Then when the demand picks up you use those "old" parts until you hopefully catch up to where you were.

I know things are not that simple, but I find it rather shocking that Ford "have" to build cars that no one wants...its not good for anyone.

They could be building more cars that people want tho.. E.g. XR6's with 18's and premium sound or Luxury packs.. All their own stock they are building to park on the grass is base stock, that is NO options. They haven't been building cars with options for a while now, why I do not know unless they think they are going to sell all their 2011 XR6's to Hertz sometime next year for 20 kay!! LOL.

They havent had a promo on Falcon utes for the entire FG series except for 50th anniversary.. You should see the Falcon utes sitting at campbellfield, theres hundreds and hundreds of white base model utes sitting there rusting away. Why not do a tradesman special SVP, get the dealers to fit alloys to them and tradesman stickers and sell them for 25 kay.. They would sell over night, but no they are too blind!!! They will be giving them away soon.

[Polyal]

Originally Posted by DASH GT

They could be building more cars that people want tho.. E.g. XR6's with 18's and premium sound or Luxury packs.. All their own stock they are building to park on the grass is base stock, that is NO options. They haven't been building cars with options for a while now, why I do not know unless they think they are going to sell all their 2011 XR6's to Hertz sometime next year for 20 kay!! LOL.

I honest to god do not know what they have planned with these cars. But yes, making cars no one really wants its not smart.

Perhaps their thinking is they can retofit upgrades if the orders come in? Easier to go up than down I guess.

I overheard a conversation the other day of a guy who's old man has been offered a pay out etc, that employee pricing on these cars are now at 33% off. IMO if they can keep these cars in house then thats a good thing. Maybe even offer the cars to the people leaving at that or a lower rate. Golden handshake type thing and that lowers the payout figure.

Even though I dont want a new car at the moment I would rework things for a $20k ZF XR6!

[Road_Warrior]

They've got a promo on utes right now with a 5 year 200,000klm warranty!!

[SEZ213]

Originally Posted by Road_Warrior

They've got a promo on utes right now with a 5 year 200,000klm warranty!!

We are also heading into the end of financial year as well.

[Smoke Pursuit]

Originally Posted by Polyal

I honest to god do not know what they have planned with these cars. But yes, making cars no one really wants its not smart.

Perhaps their thinking is they can retofit upgrades if the orders come in? Easier to go up than down I guess.

I overheard a conversation the other day of a guy who's old man has been offered a pay out etc, that employee pricing on these cars are now at 33% off. IMO if they can keep these cars in house then thats a good thing. Maybe even offer the cars to the people leaving at that or a lower rate. Golden handshake type thing and that lowers the payout figure.

Even though I dont want a new car at the moment I would rework things for a $20k ZF XR6!

Nope they cannot retrofit anything to them. They are locked in. The only way they can physically change them is by getting dealers to do upgrades when they land, e.g. fitting 18 inch alloys to XR's. But that is too costly. The only other way would be send a few over to FPV and pay them to do some changes, sending the old parts back to Ford to be fitted to later cars, which I don't believe they can do either.

The 5 years warranty thing won't do anything for them, if anything they should make it standard across the range, then it might! They need to add value that people can see and touch.. a 5 year warranty won't sell cars to everyone.

[Polyal]

Originally Posted by DASH GT

Nope they cannot retrofit anything to them. They are locked in. The only way they can physically change them is by getting dealers to do upgrades when they land, e.g. fitting 18 inch alloys to XR's. But that is too costly. The only other way would be send a few over to FPV and pay them to do some changes, sending the old parts back to Ford to be fitted to later cars, which I don't believe they can do either.

The 5 years warranty thing won't do anything for them, if anything they should make it standard across the range, then it might!

Yeah sorry meant dealer fitted. Not ideal but jeez better than nothing if it moves them. Like you said...limited offer with free lux pack or something just to clear that stock.

5 year warranty is nice, aslong as they are not loosing money on it in the long term...LOL....although 5 year is pretty norm these days isn't?

[Brazen]

Base model utes should have another 25mm of ground clearance. Tradies and Local Governments dont want utes which cant even mount a kerb... but anyway...

Ford research when approving the RTV showed the number 1 complaint Falcon ute buyers had was the lack of ground clearance on their utes. Number 1 complaint! Yet here we are, hundreds of white stock utes piling up, so why dont they change the formula a little? Look at the imported 2wd Hi-ride and 4wd utes which are everywhere.. hint hint.

Honestly I just think Ford are totally out of touch with buyers.

[jpd80]

Originally Posted by Polyal

Yeah sorry meant dealer fitted. Not ideal but jeez better than nothing if it moves them. Like you said...limited offer with free lux pack or something just to clear that stock.

5 year warranty is nice, aslong as they are not loosing money on it in the long term...LOL....although 5 year is pretty norm these days isn't?

If you ever get to read some of the older Ford quarterly results for certain areas that didn't meet
expectations in terms of income/profit, they use the term "unfavorable product mix".......
this is what FoA is suffering now.

I'd almost bet that a lot of those XR6s were built in the last four months were actually
for rental companies and user chooser novated leases that didn't come calling...
A lot of Ford's builds are still to fleets of one kind or another and to dealer stock,
forget the rhetoric about only building to customer orders, when Ford PR says that
they mean internal customers but that bit is never fully explained at press conferences.....

[prydey]

Originally Posted by Brazen

Base model utes should have another 25mm of ground clearance. Tradies and Local Governments dont want utes which cant even mount a kerb... but anyway...

Ford research when approving the RTV showed the number 1 complaint Falcon ute buyers had was the lack of ground clearance on their utes. Number 1 complaint! Yet here we are, hundreds of white stock utes piling up, so why dont they change the formula a little? Look at the imported 2wd Hi-ride and 4wd utes which are everywhere.. hint hint.

Honestly I just think Ford are totally out of touch with buyers.

want a ute with more ground clearance? buy a ranger. anyone would think the falcon had to cater to every single market the way some people carry on.

[Smoke Pursuit]

Originally Posted by prydey

want a ute with more ground clearance? buy a ranger. anyone would think the falcon had to cater to every single market the way some people carry on.

The sad part is they already had the RTV... All they had to do was update the front suspension!!

I can't fit in a Ranger single cab, too tall!! The FG RTV woulda have been the go for me, but I ended up with the XR6!