Thread regarding Ford layoffs

@16qii+1cWTDLAd
On https://fordretireebenefits.com/ there is a link to a FAQ document at https://documents.viabenefits.com/website/ford/2021-09-21_Ford-Pre-Medicare-Retiree-Health-Change_FAQ-Final.pdf

Which states:
“you can enroll in coverage using Via Benefits, or if you desire, you can enroll with a local broker or
directly through a federal or state-based marketplace.
Regardless of where you enroll, Via Benefits will be your reimbursement
administrator.”

I would suggest looking into the website of the plans you are considering For example Blue Cross of Michigan at www.bcbsm.com has a lot more options that the limited BCBS plans listed on the via benefits website.

Well, Ford can invest in it's future and get rave reviews and continue to follow all the EV lemmings:
"Ford’s more-than-$30 billion investment in electric vehicles through 2025"
https://media.ford.com/content/fordmedia/fna/us/en/news/2021/09/27/ford-to-lead-americas-shift-to-electric-vehicles.html

When at the same time, Ford is forgetting about all the retirees that helped build this great company. Ford always touted itself and employees as part of a family company. I guess we retirees are now considered the “black-sheep of the Ford family” and no longer worth anything.

How much would it really cost Ford continuing the health care “promise” in comparison to the EV investment over the next three years?. Just adjusting the $500 stipend for inflation from 2006 would increase it to approx $687 or 4500/year. Even that small gesture would help out the retirees, most of which are now living on a fixed income.

To @16qii+1cWTDLAd: Via benefits does have a call-back option, however I am still awaiting the call-back, as it never happened!

Ford and Integrity are 2 words that should never be used in the same sentence. Given this latest example of their absolute lack of integrity and regard for their retirees, I will absolutely be purchasing my next vehicle from another Brand; definitely will not be a Ford.

Retired 12.31.2018. 2019 health, dental and supplemental life insurance cost $93/month. 2020 Health, dental and life cost $493/month. 2021 was $523/month. 2022 is looking like it will cost $1243/month for health insurance only. Via Benefits is terrible, their web site is only a portal to heatlhcare.gov. Ford is terrible, I am ashamed of the Company I helped build.

Ford viabenefits open enrollment started on 11/1 with a due date of 12/15. It's 11/28 and I still haven't been able to enroll after 20+ tries and hours on hold without ever getting thru. Called Ford and they told me to keep trying to get thru. Got an email from viabenefits apologizing and blaming their issues on staffing/covid. They should allow you to enter a phone number to be called back on. Wish all of us pre-medicare retirees luck...we need it.

Via Benefits, what a joke! I've reached out many times. Was on hold for 4 hours for my initial appointment! Called a few more times, only to be on hold for hours or be disconnected. What a horrible experience. Thank you Ford Motor company for the great experience. Perhaps Farley ought to call and get his benefits this way!

Shame on Ford for treating its salaried retirees this way. Its almost criminal. You are promised Healthcare benefits after working there for 30 or more years. I retired with 32 years, and two years into retirement, they pull this stunt. I guess my extra expenses now to be incurred will not be going toward a New Ford vehicle. Despicable!

This is a terrible thing Ford has done. Nothing like leaving the people out to dry who helped you get to where you are at. I am a spouse of a retiree and I hope they do not take the pension away of the surviving spouses which was promised years ago.

Farley is just following thru on Hacketts, BCG (and Bill Fords) multi-year plan. BTW the board reviewed and approved the plan. Didn’t you notice the modeling Ford requested from financial and healthcare companies when they were formulating the plan? Didn’t you notice how veteran leaders like CFO first opposed the plan then resigned when the plan was approved? Then short term leaders were brought in to be the implementers.

Don’t place all the blame on the puppets, blame the puppet masters.

They planned this all out, the plan has not completed yet.
For the frogs still in the p-t, jump out while you can, or you will be stuck with your decision until you croak. For those already retired, Ford doesn’t care so tighten your belt and find some supplemental income. Sux but that is the lay of the land.

I cry as I will do everything I can to distance myself from the Ford "Family". I encourage all retirees to do the same.
Audi /Mercedes./Toyota are bet cars to buy anyway.
Even Hackett didn't do this, JimF.

My husband took the retirement package because in part we thought we’d have health insurance, and also life insurance, including the optional life insurance we pay for. Does anyone know if the group life insurance can be converted to an individual policy? We haven’t received any mention of the life insurance at all and we counted on that as part of our retirement plan.

Ford will lose in the long run with sales. Retirees are PI---D. So are their friends and families.

Via Benefits has been a terrible experience so far. Im missing one of my Household Members Eligible for Funding. It was correct on the materials they sent to my house, but incorrect when enrolling. It's $283.33 less a month unless they fix it. I was on hold for over an hour with these people. Not fun. Been trying to get this fixed with them and Ford NESC for 2 weeks now.

No one is asking the important question. Why age range (62-65). This sounds like age discrimination.

A previous commenter questioned whether people will postpone retirement because of this. Good luck! They tap you on the shoulder once you have 30 years in, even if you are under 65, pushing you to retire. And you know what that means, they'll make your life h-e-double hockey sticks if you try to stay. Happened to me in 2018.

They announced this after the 2021 VSSP was closed. Anyone decided to retire and under 65 could not know this was coming. They would have not have been able to take in account how much your benefits would cost. I am sure it was planned well in advance. This could easily cost $700 above the $500 a month they are giving you.

Well I guess is is time to cancel any future purchase of Ford products. This includes A&X plan for the family and friends.
I am sure when people get SRD or Conwayed there will be CYA emails or recordings going to the NHTSA. So I am cheering on those people who sued the company back in 2019. FRY they for us. Because we are next. We were promised these benefits if we stayed with the company through thick or thin. It is sad that Salaried pays a premium for HC but UAW pays not even half of what the salaried folks pay. Then we get the rug pulled right out form under us. Well good look with all the court cases and federal investigations to come.

I wonder how many people will postpone retirement now that there has been a change in the retirement insurance?

@5vst+1cWTDLAd. Great post but Via was not a cost for Ford. Ford was happy to provide retiree info for free.

Insurance was unsustainable in that Ford contributions have not increased since 2006 and Ford was getting close to paying less than half which looks bad.

Via is for profit and has many plans some of which will be cheap (and low quality)

Good Luck to all with Via benefits. Stay healthy and chose your plan wisely.
Friends who are IBM retirees were offloaded to Via Benefits. They describe interactions with Via like a cat playing with a mouse before the ultimate demise.
Barriers and obfuscations were the name of the game.

Everyone can guess that Via was the lowest cost option with the glossiest power points.
Everyone also knows this has been in plan for years. First nudge them out the door, then raise rates hoping people will go else where for insurance, then pull the rug out.

When a company can’t actually turn a profit with their core business - they go after a quick fix - trim people costs. Buckle up for the in-voluntaries, as the Ford Free Pass has reported the majority of your jobs are going to F of I.
All the people lacking empathy saying boohoo, we don’t have healthcare in retirement so you shouldn’t either, will soon find themselves in a spot where things they were promised are taken away also.

One has to wonder if the thrifting actions are short sighted. The majority of retirees were loyal Ford purchasers and loyal keeper of Ford secrets. Loyalty is a two way street.

There’s no doubt that this was a generous benefit that many (most?) people working at other companies aren’t offered. No argument there. However is it not reasonable to promise a benefit that was likely considered as people looked at their retirement income. Of course everyone’s financial situation is different but there are likely people who would not have retired when they did had they known this was coming. Some say they should get a job but getting a job with benefits when you’re older and have been out of the work force for two or more years is easier said than done.

Without doing any analysis, I can tell you this is not good. Why? When is the last time Ford made a change that was beneficial to retirees?

To the person asking if this change is a good deal for his family. You would need to review the market place health website and fill in your information to see what the health care premiums would be for you.

https://www.healthcare.gov/see-plans/#/

I plugged in some just for fun. A couple (husband and wife in their late 50's) with an 11 year old child can get a PPO plan with a $7000 deductible for $2243.65 a month. If you were given an HRA of $1283 a month from Ford ($15,400/yr), that would leave you with a premium of around $960 a month. Only you can decide if that is a good deal. By the way... these are 2021 premium prices. 2022 premium prices have not been released yet.

To the poster who said stop whining, most do not get retiree health benefits - Ford cut this benefit to those hired 20 years ago. For those that hired in before the benefit was cut, 20 years is a long commitment. Ford only needs to honor that commitment for a few years.
Is there any doubt at this point that those suing over SRD have a case? They were cut before their health care benefits were locked in.

Post ID: @1mxq+1cWTDLAd

Under the 2007 agreement with the US auto company's, they transferred all the UAW retirement medical funds to a Voluntary Employee Beneficiary Association (VEBA).
The UAW is responsible for managing and administering the retirees medical program.

Actually, if you have eligible kids, the new plan throws in $3,400 per kid. Assuming my kid is eligible (she is 11, so think that is true) then since I am married I’d get $15,400 per year. Since am thinking of retirement sometime in next year or so (actually I am thinking I’ll be let go, but since I am retirement eligible and hired in 1998, I get this benefit and pension, too), I’d like to know from someone already retired from Ford the last three or four years if this deal is good, bad, or indifferent?

Since active employee healthcare keeps getting more expensive, and I also heard the people that took VSSP in 2018 got screwed in 2019 with huge cost increases, I’ll assume it is no better or worse that what salaried retirees have now - fair statement? Is it enough o cover dental and vision, too??

BTW, this is what you get with Obamacare - they are bringing down the (former) middle class to make everyone the same except the elites. Enjoy you free health care comrades! As usual, people who believe and vote for free lunches are clueless as how the world really works. Want a hint? Check out the photos fig this years Met Gala, the one with 30k tickets - attendees did not wear masks, but those working the event were forced to wear them. Rules for thee and rules for everyone else.

The Ford UAW retirees still get premium benefits. Here we all worked for the same company, but Ford is treating salaried differently; like a lower class retiree. Ford is no longer a company with integrity. I've saw a great company that I worked for turn into a ruthless, uncaring, all about the numbers company.

My heart bleeds. Guess what, most hard working people in the US don't have any type of post retirement benefits from their employers.

Stop whining and get a job is you think it is soo bad. That is what the rest of us do.

I worked for the company for over 35 years. I was led to believe I would have medical coverage when I retired. Ford has lied to its employees. This is disgusting.

$6k or $12k (married couples) for retireees is nothing. Health insurance per person over 65 is easily a few thousand dollars a month (not including MediCare).

Married couples will still receive a $12K subsidy from Ford. Did you really think Ford is a family friendly company and would do what's right for you? Try getting insurance on the open market without this subsidy like some of us who were walked out the door. It's all about perspective.

Two words: Lump sum

@buc+1cWTDLAd You used integrity and Ford in the same sentence. The company is really screwing it's retirees and I'm no longer proud to have worked there.

In the unlikely event that Ford sold pension obligations to an insurance company AND the insurance company defaulted under Michigan law the pensioners loss would be capped at $250,000. That is unlikely but would suck especially for those of us that planing on live long lives and we're counting on PBGC protection

This is just the beginning! I wouldn't be surprised if next Ford sells their pension obligation to an insurance company! Ford is no longer a good place to work!

This is such BS! Wonder how much MORE it's going to cost me now? I was "strongly encouraged" to retire when I reached 30 years. NOW they're going to sc--w me over with health insurance? What a horrible thing to do to retirees.

I just saw this too. I figured something like this was coming after the huge cost bump was realized after taking PRP in 2018.

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As soon as they didn’t increase premiums for 2021 vs what they were for 2020, I knew this would be coming.

Start Shopping the Government Market Place for your insurance! Unbelievable !
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w77WTPTIv74