Car manufacturer Ford is being urged to make its future intentions clear after the company announced it would start cutting 300 jobs at its Geelong and Broadmeadows plants beginning in June.

The company plans to stop manufacturing cars in this country by October 2016 and says the cuts announced on Thursday are are a response to declining demand for Ford cars.

The company says it will always match production to demand and is refusing to rule out further cuts before the 2016 closure date.

Geelong Labor MP Richard Marles is calling for meetings with Ford to clarify its future intentions.

Mr Marles is also calling on local Liberal MP Sarah Henderson to state her position.

“We are in a critical moment in Australia’s manufacturing history,” he said.

“We have a government which is utterly indifferent to the future of manufacturing in Australia today.

“This is a very significant moment in time and voices need to be heard now.”

David Purchase, the chamber’s executive director of the Victorian Automobile Chamber of Commerce says the Federal Government must reconsider its stance.

“We will be naive and silly to believe that we can keep this sector alive in Australia without government support.”

Ford’s decision is another blow for the already struggling car components sector.

Richard Reilly from the Federation of Automotive Products Manufacturers says many companies in the supply chain are trying to find new work overseas but it is a struggle.

He says component makers need the underlying revenue they get from the major carmakers before they can diversify.