My favorite line is “supplier partners.” Oxymoron like “jumbo shrimp.”
Suppliers always the focus of blame at Ford; price, quality, warranty, timing, now leaks.
While not naming specific models, Ford said Tuesday that "a number of these breaches" have come from supplier partners.
"We cannot underscore enough the negative impact of these unfortunate actions on our collective business results, and we ask for your support to personally follow the confidentiality guidelines inherent in Ford's Global Terms & Conditions," the automaker said in the memo, signed by Jonathan Jennings, the automaker's vice president for global commodity purchasing and supplier technical assistance. "Ford has a zero-tolerance policy for leaks emanating from our own team members, and we need all supplier personnel to adopt a similar approach regarding unauthorized disclosures of Ford confidential information."
The automaker reminded suppliers that competitive advantages could be "severely diminished or eliminated altogether through malicious or careless disclosure of confidential information."