Toyota confirmed this week that it will stop producing vehicles and engines in Australia by 2017, which will affect thousands of direct and indirect jobs, according to a report by Reuters.
Toyota's announcement comes after General Motors and Ford Motors decision to also leave the country, meaning no global automaker will be manufacturing vehicles or engines in Australia, mainly due to high costs.
"We did everything that we could to transform our business, but the reality is that there are too many factors beyond our control that make it unviable to build cars in Australia," Toyota Australia President Max Yasuda said in a statement.
Approximately 2,500 jobs will be affected once the plant halts vehicle production in three years, Toyota confirmed.
Toyota's exit from Australia after over half a century there is a huge problem for Prime Minister Tony Abbott's conservative government, which is attempting to handle a "slowdown" in the $1.5 trillion economy, according to Reuters.
"This is obviously devastating news for everyone involved with Toyota. It's devastating for me and for the government," Abbott said in Canberra, according to Reuters.
Union leaders have been very vocal in how the government has handled its auto industry issues.
"The loss of the automotive manufacturing industry in Australia will have far reaching consequences around the country and throughout the economy," said Australia Council of Trade Unions (ACTU) Secretary David Oliver, according to Reuters.
Toyota's departure has been rumored since GM and Ford both made their announcements.
Australia's auto industry includes approximately 150 companies working in sectors from design, engineering, and components. Over 45,000 people are employed by auto and parts-manufacturing sectors, according to Reuters.
"They've (the government) done absolutely nothing to keep Toyota in this country," Oliver said.
Despite the fact that Australians purchased a record 1.14 vehicles last year, proportion produced domestically was a record low at approximately 10 percent.
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