By dragging it on they hope some will just leave in the interim and Ford won’t have to pay them a severance, just another cost-cutting, morale-destroying move to save money.
These guys are ruthless! Next week is so bad I’ve heard the managers doing the firing are bringing personal safety protections in case it gets really bad.
Just remember, most of the management team on Tuesday is dreading this as much as those being fired. Many really do care. Feel bad. They are just the messengers doing what they’ve been directed to by Hackett and his BCG slashers. Ford really should have spared having internal managers having to execute this. Instead hire professionals like in “Up in the air” movie but alas they are too cheap to even do that!
For those who survive next week you need to know that this is in the five year plan and each following year they are cutting again at all levels another 10%. In case anyone has noticed market share has decreased from 25-15%. Cars are gone basically. Legacy departments are considered waste. Cost centers are going to be crushed in the upcoming years. Global sales are in the tank and hopeless. The ship is just too big to turn around quickly. Ford is moving to purge all pension-eligible employees out each year to where everyone is non-pension (post-2004 hire date). That is an area of huge legacy cost for years to come. They need that number fixed to plan effectively. Which means getting all eligible off the books no longer accruing pension credits. Usually companies freeze and eliminate it going forward. Not sure why Ford stopped at 35 years.
Ford is in uncharted territory, unprepared, with baby boomers with the $$$ retiring and not much longer being the cash cow. Businesses will still buy the F-Series. But what else? Gen X, Millennials, Gen Y are a whole different animal. They see no status in cars like older generations. SUVs will help sales to families. That’s about it. EV is less than 2% of US market. And all companies outside of Fiat are introducing new EVs. Tesla will be bankrupt in 3-5 years as VW, BMW, GM, Ford, Toyota come online with great EVs with huge dealer networks.
The only stable jobs are in government and healthcare for the next decade-plus.
Ford will have half the number of full-time salaried employees in 5 years. 10% cuts over a 5 year timeframe will accomplish this along with attrition and quits. 100K+ down to 50K+. IT will shift even more to India, outsourced, agency consultants.
Welcome to the 21st Century.