A Mitsubishi executive said yesterday that the Japanese automaker's Australian plant will be closed, with the loss of 930 jobs.
Mitsubishi Australia president Rob McEniry told workers yesterday that their plant in Adelaide would close next month. He told reporters that staff were given the rest of the week off but would return to work on Monday.
McEniry said production of the 380 model sedan manufactured there would be discontinued and the company would sell only imported vehicles in Australia.
The decision was forced on the company by a series of issues, including accumulated losses of more than A$1.5 billion (US$1.36 billion) over the past 10 years, he said.
He said the company had also struggled to sell the 380 model -- sold as the Galant in the US -- in a declining large car market, while the impact of exchange rates on exports had also been severe.
"The management of both MMC [Mitsubishi Motor Corp] and Mitsubishi Australia concluded the only viable, the only commercially responsible and the only sustainable future for the brand in Australia that would allow us to grow and be profitable was to pursue a full import business strategy," McEniry said in a media conference in Adelaide.
He said 930 jobs would be cut and another 280 jobs in associated industries could also be lost.
The struggling automaker's Adelaide plant, which makes the 380 sedan has been running at a third of its production capacity, rolling out some 10,000 vehicles last year.
``We are discussing the future direction of our Australian operations within the company, and will make an announcement as soon as a decision is made,'' said Kai Inada, spokesman for Mitsubishi Motors Corp in Tokyo.
Inada confirmed the company board would meeting yesterday. The automaker is set to outline a business strategy before the end of this fiscal year on March 31.
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