Ford to Close Operations in Japan, Indonesia This Year

Ford will exit all areas of business, including shuttering dealerships and stopping sales and imports of Ford and Lincoln vehicles, according to an email from Asia Pacific President Dave Schoch to all employees in the region.

Product development done in Japan will shift elsewhere.

A Ford spokeswoman confirmed that an email regarding the decision was sent to employees on Monday.

The company will provide ongoing support to customers for service, spare parts and warranties, Karen Hampton, Ford's Asia Pacific spokeswoman, said in an e-mailed statement.

"Ford remains committed to serving global markets while aggressively restructuring parts of our business which have no reasonable path to achieve sales growth."

Ford's exit from Indonesia follows General Motors, which announced last year that it would close down its factory in Southeast Asia's largest car market.

Indonesia is dominated by Toyota Motor Corp. and its affiliate Daihatsu.