Ford to axe 450 jobs in Australia

8220;We don8217;t take these steps and these actions lightly,8221; Burelas said, adding the cuts would come from voluntary redundancies.

8220;The steps are necessary actions to ensure that we right-size the business, to ensure that we can operate and operate effectively in a very dynamic and changing marketplace here in Australia,8221; he said.

High fuel costs have seen Australian motorists embrace smaller, more fuel efficient cars than those traditionally making up the bulk of Ford sales. Sales of the company8217;s flagship Falcon large sedan have fallen from 104,990 cars in 2003 to 49,701 in 2007.

Industry figures showed overall car sales in Australia in September fell 3.1 per cent on the same month last year.

Some key Ford models have seen sales slip by between 15 and 25 per cent this year, according to a recent government-sponsored report on the local car industry.

Ford employs 4,500 people at plants in Geelong and Broadmeadows. Another 7,500 are employed by independent Ford dealerships in Australia. Ford Australia last year reported net revenue of A3.45 billion 2.2 billion.

Japan8217;s Toyota Motor Corp is the market leader in Australia with around 22 per cent of all sales, followed by General Motors8217; unit Holden with 14 per cent and Ford with 10.3 per cent.