FORD Australia announced yesterday that it would cut up to 350 jobs, or 15 percent of its Australian manufacturing work force, due to a slump in sales of large cars.

The cuts, expected in mid-November, follow an earlier announcement that 600 jobs would be lost when local six-cylinder engine production ends in 2010.

Ford spokeswoman Sinead McAlary said in Melbourne yesterday that changing consumer preferences, rising fuel prices and economic factors had caused a decline in the large-car segment. She said the job losses would be evenly split between two plants in the state of Victoria.

McAlary said the company plans to hire about 300 staff when it started production of the Ford Focus in 2011 but the current cuts were necessary in the interim.

Australian Industry Minister Kim Carr warned there could be more job cuts in the embattled automotive industry, saying that one-third of suppliers are in 'a state of distress.'

Ford's decision comes at a trying time for Australia's automotive industry.

Mitsubishi closed its Australian factory earlier this year, and General Motors's Australian arm, Holden, recently axed 1,100 jobs at two of their plants.