Thread regarding Ford layoffs

@p1+1jn7k5kc7 yeah the big problem with tech specialists / tech experts is that they were sometimes just used as a placeholder to put someone in. the big bosses already think they understand the technology. they just listen to the supplier salesmen to get all the tech info they need. because tech salesmen are always truthful and looking out for ford's best interest. on the golf course. we know that for sure. ha!

@nw+1jn7k5kc7 That is a interesting observation. We were discussing earlier this week how in the 200x the truly collaborative and skilled were promoted into tech spec LL6 and LL5 positions. They did all the heavy lifting while the otherleaders and wannabes played Ford games. Then in 201x -> 202x the push was to force all LL6 and LL5 to be supervisory and eliminate the tech spec roles “as they had no value”. Our LL3 took a different tack in 2019. He ousted all the tech spec LL6 and LL5 and within a month promoted bozos into those “unneeded” positions, then handed out HTHD positions to his buddies. The place went to hxxx in a hand basket. We’ve reorganized multiple times since and doubled the number of employees. Yet projects are not getting completed. Now plans are to outsource and offshore. May as well outsource the whole org including the LL3. I’m estimate 70% of his org are of the non-contributing variety now. You get what you reward.

@nq+1jn7k5kc7 before and during the OneFord stuff, there was often this: "everybody's an id--t except me" mentality. yeah you had your teamwork, but often the people saying that phrase were the ones who got promoted. you get what you reward.

@ej It’s a reflection of the senior leadership. There is no One Ford. There is constant infighting and backstabbing in leadership and that flows all the way down the chain. Every people leader is sub-optimizing activities to line their own pockets / advance their own career at the expense of the overall good of the company. The few leaders who attempt to take the company view find themselves victims of sabotage by the leaders they were attempting to collaborate with.
For Fs sake it’s a daily S show. Blue vs Model E. Old vs Young. Common Sense Engineering vs MBA sense on and on. All a reflection of JF and his minions. Disgusting
And now we have directors asking IT if they can lock laptops if workers attempt to WFH instead of RTO. Yeppers that will go well. How do you know if they are home sick and got a page and logged on to fix a problem vs garden variety WFH?
Hire and promote the right people and you wouldn’t have these discussions. Oh but the FnF crowd only sees things thru their eyes. They abuse the system so everyone else does.

@da+1jn7k5kc7

No one cares about co-workers or the organization, or even the company

Some of my coworkers the ones that are worth it, I still care about.

The org and company doesn't give a #@&$ about us so why would we care about them.

I left a while ago but was taking to a former coworker still there. He said everyone is just out for themselves. No one cares about co-workers or the organization, or even the company. What a culture! Well done Bill and Jim.

@a6+1jn7k5kc7 Exactly. In order to sell services, our vehicles should be good and affordable - who will pay a subscription fee for a 70k vehicle that gets recalled every year?

The west coast people are here because they could not find a better paying job at Telsa/Google - they join Ford to build their CV and then leave for better shores (nothing wrong with it). Just look at the Peleton CEO. The pri ter ink on his CV had not dried up and he left FoMoCo

It’s not just Ford, employers have the power now and are flexing it.

Yep the mandatory work hours is becoming a thing. Funny thing is our LL6 is attending meetings via phone while at his children’s activities while we must be in a chair in a room set up like a school cafeteria. Not to worry self appointed snitches have their phones out videoing your empty chair if you spend too much time in the can. It’s hilarious two people working, eight trying to catch the two worker bees not working. Only at Ford.

This from autoextremist reader mail

More on Farley.

I read with interest your latest "Rant" regarding the grim times at Ford. I retired from Ford in 2020 after 32 great years, the final 15 leading the successful motorsports division in Europe winning four WRC titles along the way as well as many highly successful digital media campaigns with Ken Block. I still keep in touch with all affairs Ford as I am a pensioner of Henry Ford & Son Ltd and live just 22 miles from the original Ford homestead.

As you can imagine, with the above in mind how much of a disappointment the current leadership has been presiding over a company in decline not just in the U.S. but globally. Warranty costs are out of control and for example market share is rapidly declining for the oval that many of us have helped to shine over the decades. In Ireland, for example, Ford now resides outside the top 10 manufacturers from one time being 1st, 3rd and more recently 5th on the market leadership table. The same is being replicated across many markets in Europe. Horror stories about fundamental design issues such as the engine "wet belt" disaster. Model lineup includes Puma, Kuga and Focus (deleted end 2025) and two EVs namely the Explorer and Capri. The latter is not selling too well but overall little choice for faithful Ford consumers.

Rome is burning while Farley is at various race tracks around the US/Europe playing team manager and fawning to Christian Horner. Ironically Jim was never an advocate of motorsport when he managed Ford of Europe as I quickly learned and discovered it was more a case of "not invented here" so, not interested. Today as we know Jim is incinerating shareholder and FMC money on NASCAR, WEC, GT3, Dakar and F1 projects to mention but a few. With this in mind I would suggest that your writing talents and research could highlight that the malaise you highlighted is not just confined to the U.S., it is a global contagion. Many thousands of livelihoods have been sacrificed by Farley so he can remain at the helm. It is difficult to fathom how shareholders have had the patience to witness the consistent stagnation of their investments. Maybe, as we say in Europe, "Ask Jim, he's like google, he knows everything".

Gxxxxx Qxxxx
Cork, Ireland

So much for work-life-balance! Smh!

I work in IT and it is definitely getting worse as I am actively looking for a new job outside of the company. The control and command mindset is worsening but that's what you get with incompetent "leadership". Their solution is to add more "managers" and more micro-mgt. The waste is incredible at this company - needs to be DOGE'd.

We are in the golden age of the blue oval. We can't make decent quality 100-year old hardware, so we are qualified to be a software company.

It is the way to push attrition so they don’t have to give packages. Make it sick more and more so folks just retire or quit.

@a3+1jn7k5kc7

A software company who's product goes into vehicles that nobody's really interested in buying anymore because the quality is in the pits.

It's like these West Coast idjits don't understand that part of the whole equation

Been here for 10+ years and I have only seem things get worse with time. Clueless management that is used to beating up suppliers to complete mo--ns getting promoted just because they su-k better than a Dyson. And the latest gimmick is that we are a ‘Software company’- even Cramer has stopped buying into our story.