I've been looking at media coverage of GM layoffs and ours, and to say the two do not compare would be an understatement. GM layoffs were everywhere - they caused such an outrage that even politicians from both sides came out to condemn them. And yet when it comes to Ford, there is barely a tenth of coverage and outrage...
Why is this the case?
Sometimes being first at something gets you attention. Give it a try. Do not sit on the fence gate, and be pushed by the wind, You may not like the direction you are going, at it is too late to do anything about it.
GM ripped off the bandage...did its layoffs in a short time. Ford is doing it very slowly, so not nearly so dramatic.
I think @YasBs6q-mno nailed it.
Shutting down an Entire Plant is something that Resonates.
But also.... GM was the FIRST (of the US-automakers) to start the layoffs.
Naturally, there will be a little less bruhhaha when FORD does it 2nd.
I suspect that if/when FCA initiates their cuts... there will be even LESS attention paid.
Of course, if THAT does happen (all 3 do layoffs)... it's probably gonna get REALLY BAD for the rest of us S---Ers who didn't FLEE Michigan when they had the chance...
cheers!
The severance comes with non disclosure agreement
Of the Big 3, Ford has always been the most skilled at PR and spinning their story in the media. Junior saw the blowback GM received and was determined to fly as far under the radar as possible. GM was upfront about the number of layoffs, which workers it would hit, timing of the cuts and cost targets. Ford has been extremely vague and provided very little information aside from JH's "fitness" platitudes. That gives journalists very little to write about.
This Ford board is very quiet in comparison to the GM board which seems even more active than here, even now after the large-scale February layoffs. In that sense Ford has succeeded. There are no "real time" postings here regarding large numbers of firings. No reports of Metro Cars waiting to take home managers who lost their company cars. No postings about entire departments or programs decimated. Very few postings of how the layoffs went-down. What was said. What the package was, etc. No pent up outrage and venting. Those who follow this board notice some areas of the company almost clueless about what is going on or what is coming. Again Ford has succeeded in this area. Not sure if Ford personnel are just scared to post or if the amount of layoffs has been very low up to this point. Have the layoffs so far been "trial balloons" to test how to proceed going forward? Without people posting here its really hard to tell.
GM laid-off here, I would say that most of the media talk was about the plant shutdowns announced, there was not that much of an outcry for the white collar layoffs. Also the fact that it happened all at once whereas Ford seems more secretive about it and is seemingly doing it over a longer period.
Also the fact that GM just comes out of a year of solid profits probably contributed to the public being angry.
If anything they are expanding blue collar so people don't care as much https://www.clickondetroit.com/automotive/ford-to-expand-production-at-flat-rock-assembly-plant-add-900-jobs
If anything they are expanding blue collar so people don't care as much https://www.clickondetroit.com/automotive/ford-to-expand-production-at-flat-rock-assembly-plant-add-900-jobs
Ford white collar is Michigan centric and Ford controls (or at least seriously influences) the media. In addition Michigan employees have strong tethers to the auto industry. GM had a more dispersed white collar work force (Arizona, Georgia, Texas, California) all located in areas that have a diverse economy and no particular allegiance to the auto industry. Very easy to say exactly how you feel about a company when you can cut all your ties to the company.
I think Ford is just better at managing their communications around this kind of stuff, better at keeping it mostly quiet, at least this time around.
Plus, I think it makes a much bigger splash when a company comes out and says they're going to close down a plant completely the way GM did. I don't think the general public understands quite as much what it means to get rid of a shift or lay off white collar workers. But when a plant actually closes that's a real tangible thing that everyone understands, inside or outside of the industry, and it makes bigger news.
Like when news comes out that a company is going to cut X number of employees, people just kind of shrug. Not that it's not a big deal to the employees that get let go, but for most people it's just a number,a statistic.
But when news comes out that a whole plant, often one that supported the whole economy of an entire town, is going to go completely dark, that gets a response out of people, that's the kind of news that spreads.
There is no shortage of younger workers looking for work. Throw in a transitioning industry and forget about it.