Thread regarding Ford layoffs

Blessing in disguise. Enjoy your life!

SIRP'd in 2022 but had planned on retiring anyways in November. I had no plans to return to work so my spouse and I have been traveling a lot and spending most of winter in Florida. I'm working 1-2 days a week at a fun job for vacation money and the benefits of learning and socializing. I do not miss Ford one bit and our family has a brand new Chevy and Buick.

Aug 22 SIRP with TA last PR. I think those with big increases are the exception and maybe some were low on Fords pay scale. I made full retirement as a fairly high paid LL6, took lump sum, and the SIRP package worked out great for me, but I lost so much respect for Ford from the way others were treated. My first 15 months included two short term jobs and 6 months no work. Then found a non-automotive job, 2 days per week in office with great commute and beautiful building (much better than any at Ford), total package maybe 10% less than Ford but low stress, no direct reports and I like my work and management. I feel fortunate. Some others I know are making less but for less work/stress and seem ok with that - sort of half way retired.

I'm still out of work. And with the auto industry now following the same pattern of endless job cutting, starting to loose all hope of working again. Been REAL quiet on jobs last few months. Stellantis now in full layoff mode, and it sounds like there CEO is coming to America to cut more. GM just got rid of 1200 people, one of my neighbors told me that works in Milford. Thats twice now I was close to getting an offer from GM, then jobs cuts hit and ki-led it. GM HR called me and told me they wanted to hire me but cant now. Then like others here said salaries are all over the place. Some jobs claim they could give me a raise if I got to the offer point. Most others are talking major cut in pay. Its to the point when I apply for a job I'm afraid to give a number. Its lose-lose. I give an honest answer they tell me its to high and I'm dead. I give the same number and some companies say ok, that saved us money and dont give me a raise. I dont know a single person that got laid off when I did that has found a new job. And whats a kick in the gut now in the last few months I seen my old job posted on their salaried web site. I of course applied for it and got turned down. And Ford said we can go back after one year. HR said I have approval to come back. They posted the salary as more then I was making, and wanted less experience. And I never got a bad PR, so they cant use that excuse. I been trying to exit the auto industry and get a job someplace else. But only got a small handful of interviews and that was over a year ago. Been told I have an excellent resume and skills.

Is it true that our vehicles no longer have any brackets? Farley said we were getting rid of brackets 3 years ago

November ‘22 retiree here. Left three years before I planned in order to rescue my modest lump sum.

Retired from ICE, not working, enjoying my time.

Especially grateful I do not have to attend meetings with team members from Brazil, India, Mexico, China, and wonder who will really put their hands on the parts and be responsible to solve a problem at Our North American Engine plants.

Enjoying not being sh#t-talked down by Farley in public interviews as he did twice in 2022.

Looks like he needs ICE experts now more than he thought given EVs for everyone has failed to succeed.

There are jobs out there but you have to be willing to move out of SE MI. Lots of jobs in the trucking industry which is very similar to the auto industry. Check out Paccar, Volvo trucks, Navistar or Freightliner.

I was part of the ICE powertrain bloodbath. Doing well after some serious health issues. Turned down a few jobs because I don’t want the stress. Just living within a comfortable budget. If I get bored I may look for something part time. Don’t miss the everyday fire fighting with suppliers and Ford plants.

got a 30% raise.
and doing Python stuff instead of Android/Java now.

Life's great.
I'd like to believe most made it out ok if not better than they were when they were at Ford.

So There is some hope out there

2 years and not looking back. Odd jobs for fun money and lots of free time. 401k and Lump sum doing fine in the market. Spending what we need and moved out of SE Mi.

I don't miss the meaningless meeting and objectives. Product line up at Ford has nothing that I fancy. Probably will not buy anything soon and never anything new.

Family and friends used to ask about A Plan all the time.... nobody cares anymore.

I am still at Ford, but I would say that most people are not doing as great as the posts in this thread imply.

For instance, a couple of coworkers were let go 2 years ago, and they haven't got anything close to what they had at Ford. They may be "happier", but certainly not better financially. One went back to his country, not sure if permanently. The other one was trying to leverage his "hobby", trying gigs with a band.

I've been searching the job market, and while I found some interesting open positions, usually these pay less, or require too many hours. The ones similar to my current position at Ford have a lot of competition. It is hard to compete with younger applicants.

So my guess is that most Ford employees laid off got worse jobs afterward (if any). Hopefully, their pension was good enough.

I know that people have been without work for nearly 2 years. That is hard to imagine. I'm glad for those that have found something. At least right now, the best move it seems for someone moving on from Ford would be to look outside the industry. I have seen more younger people enter the trades and hopefully that eases the pain a little for the job market. We need electricians and HVAC people a lot more than we need another software programmer right now. Can send those jobs to LCC as easily..

I retired on November 30th 2022. Best move I ever made in my life! started my own company, making lots more money, and loving what I am doing, with no meetings all day, no DEI fake initiatives, needless training, and absolutely no stress.

bye bye!

Landed another job within a few weeks. More money, less stress.

I miss the people at Ford, but not the garbage they went with it.

Found a job in totally different industry almost immediately. Job is OK, money is comparable to what I made at Ford. The bonus is stock grants, the stock has grown over 2x the last 2 years. Expect the company to grow about about 40% over next 5 years, semi-conductors. I want to work another 5 years before calling it a day.

I was let go and I found another job right away. Could not be happier. It was for the best. I do believe things happen for a reason and it’s up to you to make yourself better or breakdown. Money does not bring happiness what ford is doing is wrong and the wrong people are paying for it. Leave while you can do not put up with this company. It is another sears wait and see it will fail and I do not feel bad about it because they had time to fix things but did not thanks to Hackett and farly.

@1duc, exactly my point. people like to brag how much they have, or their return on investment in 1 year, or they have doubled their money thanks to NVDA, but none of that will matter when the person passes away. Enjoy life in retirement spend modestly (3 to 4% of net worth) and everything will work out just fine. You've won the game, now enjoy it, no need to chase every dollar and how the market is doing every day.

Just make sure you don't have ANY Ford stock!

After the layoff, my wife and I decided to move back home. While I was setting up our Michigan home for sale, I found another job in my hometown. Basically I make more money than I did at Ford and now I don’t have to live in SE Michigan. I highly recommend that everyone find a different job and quit Ford. The grass really is greener on the other side.

@1skq, you don’t need as much money as you think in retirement, and if you are a male, you likely won’t live as long as you think. I’m FIRE and it’s working out great!

What about the class of 2019? The smart re-design class, the class that was told you're not smart enough for our re-design. How are y'all doing?

Doing great, I retired with no package in November 2022 and invested my lump sum pension in the market. Made a solid 27% return in 2023, rotated the 27% profit into five-year bonds paying 5.25%, letting the original principle continue to grow in the market. Now I am enjoying my retirement. I highly recommend learning how to manage and invest your own portfolio for financial freedom.

OP: You run out of time before you run out of money. Enjoy the time you have left! All the best.

OP: What is your field? Have you tried looking for something outside your field?