Sydney: Toyota will stop manufacturing automobiles in Australia by the end of 2017. Inspite of continuous appeals made by Prime Minister Tony Abbott, the top officials of Toyota have taken this decision.
The decision will possibly freeze around 3,900 jobs at its Altona plant in a Melbourne suburb and 150 jobs at the design facility. Last year, in May, USgiant Ford also said it would stop making vehicles in Australian factories from 2016, creating a loss of around 1,200 jobs.
Toyota started manufacturing cars in Australia in the early sixties and still produces its top-selling Camry sedan and other models in the country. Abbott also had repeatedly sought talks with Toyota to persuade them to keep its plants open and prevent a complete collapse of Australia's car manufacturing industry.
"As we believed that we should continue producing vehicles in Australia, the workforce of Toyota made every effort.However, various negative factors like an extremely competitive market, a strong Australian dollar along with forecasts of a reduction in the total scale of vehicle production of Australia, have forced us to make this painful decision." mentioned Toyota President Akio Toyoda.
The automaker also added further, “For those who will be impacted by this decision, Toyota intends to provide the best support it can, including employment assistance." According to a Tokyo-based spokeswoman, Toyota will discuss more details at a press conference in Melbourne.
