Of course they did because they are guilty. They don’t care, though. It was cheaper to settle the lawsuit than do the right thing and let all the others who didn’t file work until full retirement.
https://www.freep.com/story/money/cars/ford/2022/01/10/ford-settles-age-discrimination-lawsuit/9149524002/?gnt-cfr=1
Then there is the Chicago plant lawsuit filed in Nov 2021
and the Dearborn Stamping Plant lawsuit filed in Nov 2021
What a shxtshow. Oh but those big crocodile tears shed by Prof Moonbeam claiming he knew nothing about any harassment at Ford was a classic. Systemic problems swept under the rug.
Ford lawyers are on a roll, they just settled the Kentucky Truck Plant se-ual harassment case. Next up they will settle the Dearborn Truck Plant se-ual harassment case.
What a company! Clearly doesn’t care at all about employees. Good ole boys club protecting their own wallets and avoiding all their dirty laundry being aired in public.
Cmon now, the home page says they are in the lead for automotive category of Americas most just companies!
Lots of woke gems to be found
I worked with Terry Haggerty. Great, competent leader. We were shocked when he was walked out. Glad to see he was able to settle. In hindsight, he may have gotten the better end of things, because the Electrical organization he left behind is a complete and utter disaster devoid of leadership and competence.
From the Free Ford Press article:
Ford Motor Co. has settled a lawsuit alleging the automaker targeted high-performing older workers for elimination, the Free Press has learned.
"Lawyers on both sides of the dispute laid down their swords and worked collaboratively to reach a resolution," said Michael Pitt, lawyer for the former Ford employees. "We exchanged ideas, there was trust established and so the matter got resolved."
Pitt declined to comment further on negotiations or say how much money was involved in the settlement reached in December. Ford did not admit to any wrongdoing, Pitt said.
Prior to the settlement, Ford denied the allegations and on Sunday, the company declined to comment on the settlement, saying there was nothing to add.
The lawsuit claimed that in an attempt to slash costs and impress Wall Street, Ford fired salaried workers with flawless performance records who had been promoted, rewarded and cited for excellence but were then deemed expendable because of their age and proximity to key retirement milestones, according to the federal lawsuit filed last year.
At issue in the lawsuit was whether the methods used by then-CEO Jim Hackett in 2019 to massively downsize the company in a much-touted process called "Smart Redesign" were legal and whether the Ford board of directors signed off on a strategy to cut older workers with a plan to replace them with less qualified, cheaper and younger employees almost immediately.
From left, Former Ford employees Suzanne Twomley, Matt John, Erik Eliason, Remo Morrone and Andy Kress in downtown Royal Oak on August 4, 2021. Not pictured are Susan Quick, Ching Pei and Monica Dowhan.
Ford internal documents — unsealed in late July as part of the discovery process related to the lawsuit in U.S. District Court in the Eastern District of Michigan — appeared to reveal the motivation behind the alleged targeting.
Ford hired Boston Consulting Group to identify employees whose exit would provide the greatest cost savings, and the consultants utilized an algorithm that included employee birthdates and number of years employees had worked at the company, according to the lawsuit.
Ford Motor Company CEO Jim Hackett talks with reporter from Detroit Free Press in his office at the Henry Ford II World Center in Dearborn on Wednesday, February 20, 2019.
Ford, after the lawsuit was filed, promised a court fight.
"The allegations in these cases are baseless," Ford spokesman T.R. Reid said in August. "We’re vigorously challenging them."
Ford employees described to the Free Press in detail their individual experiences, which created a strong response from readers..
Former Ford employees who accepted the settlement are Suzanne Twomley, Susan Quick, Ching Pei, Matt John, Monica Dowhan, Andy Kress, Remo Morrone and Erik Eliason.
Two additional employees, Werner Woellecke and Terry Haggerty, who filed separate age discrimination claims against Ford, took part in the settlement discussion and resolved their cases too, Pitt said.
Ching Pei and his daughter, Autumn, are seen here on April 24, 2019 for her 6th birthday at her school lunch party in Menomonie, Wisconsin. A month later, Pei was cut from his job at Ford with no notice after more than 25 years with the company. When he lost his job, Ford took his company-issued Flex that he would have used to pick up his daughter from school. He was stranded until another employee took pity and drove him. "Just talking about it makes me cry," Pei said August 2, 2021.
All former Ford workers who sued the company had strong performance records and have since found new "great" jobs in Michigan and elsewhere, Pitt said.
"People who are separated in their early 50s are able to restart a second career, there's still enough time," he said. "You're at peak experience, your skills are developed and your reputation has been made as someone with a great work ethic. You can really make a contribution to a subsequent employer. It's a phenomenon we see over and over again. People who suffer job loss in their 50s should take some comfort in that."
Michael Pitt, whose Royal Oak law firm has handled four age discrimination cases against Ford Motor Co., settled in December 2021 a group lawsuit involving high-performing employees. This photo was taken in 2020.
The latest case was the fourth age discrimination lawsuit the Pitt, McGehee, Palmer, Bonanni and Rivers law firm in Royal Oak had filed against Ford, and the three earlier cases were settled too. The first, which was settled for $12 million, spotlighted tactics
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Settled just in time for another lawsuit to be filed......
Glad that they will be getting $$$
Sad that the Ford behaviors will not be spot lighted so the general public (aka customers) learn how Ford treats their employees. Stark difference between Ford stated values and Ford practiced values.
I wouldn't get too excited about this settlement because remember all of these individuals have been w/o any income from Ford since 2019 (Which I'm sure has been ultra stressful to their daily lives to say the least....) . Also Ford is not admitting any wrong doing and none of the plaintiffs can never challenge that else their settlements will be voided. Ford had at least (3) high powered entire law firms (on retainer) representing them and could have dragged this case on to infinity (because that is what big companies do to run you out of money) So I'm sure there lawyers were pushing for a settlement as well. And the cynic in me believes that Ford finally agreed to a settlement mainly because
(1) Retirement healthcare is no longer a problem because of the company wide change for all retires this year
(2) Unless these individuals were independent wealthy, their individual financial burdens had to be crushing them all by now. So all of them as well as their lawyer were ripe for a settlement offer. Also there is no guarantee what the ultimate outcome would have been in the trail. At this stage I'm sure none of them were in the mood to roll the dice when some middle ground could be reached. Otherwise if they would have forced the case to trail.
So I am glad that they were able to settle but I doubt they got everything that they were requesting. The downside is Ford can continue to spin the SRD event as they choose w/o challenge and will simply refine their "techniques" for additional actions in the future.
What emails? I want to read.
I know people that were let go in this suit. How much did they get? I know one that didn't deserve a dime.
Expected after the emails were made public by the judge. Still, Ford doesn’t want Oder employees or they would not have frozen pension and lump sum payments at 35 years. You have to retire to free up the money.
They settled with I am sure a gag order to ensure their rotten slimy practices remain hidden as much as possible from the public.
Well, I guess they did not want this to go to a public trial. I have been hearing employees are forced to take classes now on how to write an email. I guess they do not want to Cya anymore. they expect you to fall on the sword (NOT).
Of course they did! They claimed innocence, vowed to fight this lawsuit, then “settled,” which means paid damages, days before the trial begins. If that action doesn’t say “guilty,” I don’t know what would.
No surprise here.
Now they can start the pattern all over again with the next SRD and without the legal action overhang.
I took a package in 2017. Unfair that many areas were not offered the package which was generous for longer-term employees. Good for them!
Good for them! They deserve it!