Bye Bye Ford

[Sydnet]

MANILA, Philippines - American automaker Ford will shut down its assembly plant in the Philippines next year, and will just import completely built units.

Peter Fleet, president of Ford Asean, said the company will close down its Sta Rosa, Laguna facility "due to lack of economies and small supply base."

Ford is the Philippines' only auto exporter. It started assembling several models locally for export to affiliates in the region in 1999. Today, it only produces the Ford Escape at its Laguna plant.

Fleet said the plant will roll out the last of the Escape by the end of the year and cease operations next year.

This is the second time that Ford will pull out from the country. It did so in 1976 when the devaluation of the peso jacked up the price of imported parts, raising the company's costs.

Edited June 27, 2012 by Jollygoodfellow
removed parts copied that should not be.