2020 insurance is the classic bait and switch.
They conned many to take the PRP with the promise of low retiree medical. Now they are off the books and slammed with a rather hefty increase.
All you can do is speak with your wallet and don't buy any new product. Don't get anyone a purchase discount pin. Don't recommend the company to college students but rather tell them the facts.
Salaried retirees have no advocates. Get used to it.
14 replies (most recent on top)
I work here at Ford now and have seen so much inefficiency in 20 years. Many folks do very little at all if anything. I see folks get in early and dawn there walking shoes and off they go walking throughout the halls. Later on during the same day I see them power walking again.
The best thing to do is get some skills to pay the bills so you don't need to rely on good ol Ford. If you truly do have these skills you should have no issues putting Ford Motor Company in your rear view mirror.
I believe Ford is self insured and uses BCBS for the administration of the plan. I had also believed Ford treated their employees well. I don’t know if I had been mistaken because they had never done anything that impacted me directly or if they have changed but I no longer believe this to be true. SRD seemed to eliminate people to decrease future pension obligations. They just increased salaried retiree pensions significantly. Neither of these decisions is “treating” employees well. These decisions prove that they treat you well until they decide they no longer need you. We all know that many companies treat their employees badly and until recently we thought Ford was different. They are not. Leaving Ford for another position may or may not be of benefit because there’s no guarantee the next company will treat you well. If they do treat you well there’s no guarantee they won’t change for the worse in the future. It is healthy to realize we’re no longer dealing with the Ford we knew and loved.
Ford was great to me and my family during my 36 year career. I always felt they had a bit more compassion for their employees vs. other auto mfrs. It seems like Ford should have more leverage with health care providers to offer a few more options (last year there were 4 options) for retirees with the large employee pool. Such as plans just for employee and spouse and no/low premium with higher deductible for relatively healthy people. With new options, I will spend over $12k between premiums and deductible first before I can even get to the 80/20 coverage. I have had about $2-3k in claims this year so far.
I wonder if there is any formal feedback mechanism with voice of retiree and company. Seems like they would care with large base of plan buyers and service customers?
I am concerned about current leadership-Hackett. There is no question that the automotive business is extremely competitive, complex and constantly evolving-electric and autonomous vehicles.
I rarely see anything about Fords current plans for growth or direction in Automotive News or listening to quarterly results calls or annual report meetings. Seems like focus is on reducing costs which will only go so far without growing the business/leading or motivating/exciting stake holders (dealers, employees, retail customers...) Anyone remember One Ford?
Just saw 3q profits- other companies make good profits in this environment- Hackett makes excuses.
Bait and switch, I agree. I feel like a sap. I don't agree with boycotting, however. I want the company strong and wish no ill will. I want my pension to continue and I want Ford to be successful long after I am no longer here.
Why is this travesty not front page news?
I agree. Asking salaried retirees to endure the pain of higher health care for all employees at Ford is just WRONG. The pain should be shared!
I didn’t read that anyone is blaming Ford for the high cost of health care. The are blaming Ford for huge increases on salaried retiree health care while leaving current employee and UAW retiree cost unchanged.
Congratulations on the Subaru and the new job. I just read that Subaru has the highest vehicle customer retention because of quality (vehicle and service) and reliability. Silly me, I recently leased a new Escape and had several issues in the few months I’ve had it. It had to be towed and the tow truck driver said those 2019 Escapes are giving him a lot of business. Next car or SUV will be a Subaru.
I already spoke with my wallet and purchased a Subaru with some of the PRP money. I’ll be starting a new job in 6 weeks NOT in the auto industry. Plus my salary is 35% higher than my Ford salary. Guess what? They highly value the experience I have and know I plan to work for the next 3-5 years. So happy I’m out of the caustic atmosphere at Ford.
Don't blame Ford, healthcare is high period! The system in the USA is a joke and basically unaffordable! If they continue to pay eventually you won't receive a retirement check. It's comparable to high fuel prices, probably worse.
I agree – I don't think this was planned out years in advance. Rather, it was just a really lazy, unethical solution to address the additional healthcare costs Ford will face next summer as a result of no fault insurance reform in Michigan.
Sad that salaried retirees are stuck with picking up the additional costs for all (UAW active, UAW retirees, Ford active)
Leadership took the easy and shameful way out to address additional health insurance costs coming in July, 2020. Asking more from the UAW (active and retired) is hard. Asking active salaried is hard as you have to look those employees in the face everyday. Sticking it to salaried retirees is damn easy – out of sight, out of mind. What assh*les!
I really feel for all salaried retirees with cancer, diabetes, and other chronic conditions who didn't plan for this. They should be in our prayers
lets review Ford on glassdoor.com so they newbies see what Ford has done and decide whether to work for Ford or not.
So true .The plan cost stayed the same Ford is contributing less than last year and passing the shortfall on to the retiree There explanation cost increase in the 2020 health care hand out is a flat out lie