Thread regarding Ford layoffs

Truer words have not been spoken
"It's pretty much the consensus belief that the US automakers are increasingly irrelevant"

Time and time again greed and the pursuit of short term profits blinds Ford leadership. Of course when your game plan is to exploit cheap labor for short term gains it will backfire. What ends up happening is the workers all gain the skills and knowledge to build their own vehicles - better and more efficiently - and there is no need for the fat cat exploiter. Oh boo hoo some country Ford thought they could exploit turns the tables, good on them.

Now as all the non-US markets have dried up for Ford they circle back to attempt to exploit US taxpayers by claiming to be the EV saviors.

https://www.msn.com/en-us/money/markets/china-doesn-t-want-american-cars-anymore-that-s-bad-news-for-ford-and-gm/ar-AA1abaDL?ocid=msedgdhp&pc=U531&cvid=dc2b895e455f4edb802e2c9405305d20&ei=17

Looks like American business has been taken for a ride again. China forces American car companies to turn over proprietary technology to the CCP in exchange to sell a few cars. Now that China has their filthy hands on our technology and now don't want us around anymore. When will we learn?

There is a RED sympathizer removing comments on this site...

I used to love Lincolns, but the cars have been junk since like 2010, and the rest have been junk since 2019, and they only get junkier. You could not give me a post-2019 Lincoln for free.

Boycott Luncoln products! Tell your friends! USA. USA. USA.

Of course the Marshall project is a workaround to the IRA's requirements. Ford initially tried to build the project in other states that were wise enough to tell Ford to take a hike.
Shame on Michigan for being complicit in this hoodwink. Everyone downstream will have their water contaminated. Very stupid to build such a plant in an area with a high water table.

Washington — The chair of the powerful House Ways and Means Committee wrote a letter Monday to Ford Motor Co. arguing the company's planned battery plan in Marshall, Michigan, may go against the intent of the Inflation Reduction Act.

Ford is building a $3.5 billion battery plant in the small town east of Battle Creek to power its new electric vehicles. It is licensing technology for the project from Contemporary Amperex Technology Co. Ltd., or CATL, which is based in China and is the world's leading EV battery maker.

That arrangement has come under fire from Republicans in Congress, who have argued the project may pose a national security risk and would unjustly benefit from taxpayer subsidies through the IRA. Ford, whose global headquarters are in Dearborn, has said the company will wholly own and control the battery facility.

"I am alarmed about how Ford has structured this project in the context of the IRA's clean vehicle credits and am concerned that other automakers may seek to use loopholes in the IRA to avoid guardrails meant to protect American enterprise and workers," Rep. Jason Smith, R-Missouri, wrote in a letter to Ford CEO Jim Farley.

The letter also included a series of questions about Ford's relationship with CATL and its intention to claim tax credits related to electric vehicle production or sales.

Ford did not immediately comment on Smith's request, but has pushed back on Republicans' characterizations of the Marshall project as a workaround to the IRA's requirements.

T.R. Reid, director of corporate and public policy for Ford, told The Detroit News in February that the company is paying CATL for the right to use the latter company's proprietary technology and its counsel in applying that technology. He also noted that companies such as Tesla Inc. and Honda Motor Corp. import batteries directly from CATL, which Ford has also done.

"We think the better solution for customers, for the country, including for workers and their families, and for Ford is to build them here," he said.

CATL's lithium iron phosphate battery is the best of its type out there, he added, "and we want to use it as we continue to lead the EV transition. And the agreement is for us to be able to do that through the plant that we're building, will own, with our employees and — this is not unimportant — our additional layer of Ford innovation."

State officials in Michigan, which has approved up to $210 million in state grants and $772 million in property tax exemptions for the project, have similarly defended the project.

@pxp+1mcHoZdI:
Says a lot about customers.

First not knowing where vehicle is built.

Second that they would ever consider Lincoln (faux luxury).

Third that Lincoln is still a Ford.

Not the brightest bulbs on the tree!

You forgot Ford employees, too. Someone here posted not knowing what platform Nautilus was built on. I don’t cRe even if you work in IT or finance, you need to know about your companies products. To few left at Ford really do….wonderful idea getting rid of all the experienced people the last three years.

Better to get something out of that factory before the Chicoms take it over. I still won't buy one though.

@ndx+1mcHoZdI

Corsair is the Lincoln variant of the Ford Escape

Nautilus is the Lincoln variant of the Ford Edge

Aviator is the Lincoln variant of the Ford Explorer

I do care what I drive, and that's why I buy only Japanese brand assembled in Japan. I have thought of buying a Ford since I joined the company several years ago, but even with the A-plan the ratio of quality vs cost is inferior to the Japanese brands.

The only two Ford vehicles that I really like are the Mustang and the Maverick ICE versions. My wife liked the Bronco, but we decided to wait (never buy the first year, just wait until they fix most of the issues). Now my wife is actually afraid to buy a Ford, with all the scary recalls going on.

Says a lot about customers.

First not knowing where vehicle is built.

Second that they would ever consider Lincoln (faux luxury).

Third that Lincoln is still a Ford.

Not the brightest bulbs on the tree!

Ford did a study and Lincoln customers had no idea where their vehicle was made, USA or Mexico. In contrast most Chinese customers of Mercedes knew whether their vehicle was made in China or Germany.

Help me here…. Is Corsair the same size as Escape or edge

And Nautilus based off of (same size as) Explorer?

Thanks

Well, in a way it is positive because it fails a product gap for a few years, as the old Nautilus was old in the tooth and quite frankly too expensive for what you got.

However, I wonder if it means the all electric Lincoln two seater CUV is delayed? Either that or Ford actually did something smart and will have two vehicles in that space (all electric and ICE) because they realize not everyone wants a BEV.

I cannot imagine a way that this decision will be a positive move for Ford.