Thread regarding Ford layoffs

What cuts will improve quality?

We are going to cut our way to better quality! It will be interesting to see what cuts make quality improve. From the Detroit Free Ford Press:

Ford Motor Co., faced with billions in warranty claims while at the same time needing billions to develop electric vehicles, has hired an expert to slash costs, the Free Press has learned [from the press release emailed by Ford].

Josh Halliburton, who brings nearly two decades of experience as a quality turnaround specialist, explained why he was hired, how he plans to make cuts, and how consumers will be directly affected.

A quick snapshot reveals problems with these high-profile vehicles:

2020 Ford Explorer has 12 recalls
2020 Lincoln Aviator, 11 recalls
2021 Mustang Mach-E, four
2021 Ford Bronco Sport, seven
2021 Ford F-150, nine
The 2021 Ford F-150 has warnings for possiblenon-working windshield wipers, a driveshaft subject to fracture, damaged steering gear, a non-working seatbelt and faulty windshield bonding.

During the past five years, Ford has seen the highest warranty claims in more than a decade while sales have gone down globally:

$3.457 billion in 2017; 6.61 million cars sold
$4.360 billion in 2018; 5.98 million cars sold
$4.561 billion in 2019; 5.39 million cars sold
$3.923 billion in 2020; 4.19 million cars sold
$3.952 billion in 2021; 3.94 million cars sold

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Post ID: @OP+1g5o0EEX

11 replies (most recent on top)

@pqj Almost all of those vehicles launched before WFH.

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Post ID: @25byy+1g5o0EEX

The changes need at Ford are monumental. It is impossible to keep building on a shaky foundation. A philosophy that rewards todays profits and ignores long term problems and improvements is destined to fail. Hiring some outside "Guru" sounds like a gimmick move by Ford to bolster morale and it's image to the public. Truth of the matter, it takes years to ingrain a philosophy of designing and building reliable automobiles. I had three Fords, the last three have been Honda's. Only after being a Honda supplier did I realize what it takes to produce top quality automobiles. It's in their DNA, at all levels. Sadly, I don't see Ford making enough change to make a difference, too little, too late.

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Post ID: @25rwi+1g5o0EEX

Stop incenting purchasing for supplier cost reduction demands. Den of thieves who will always blame supply base for perceived expectations never defined by print or spec. Adversarial relationships have the supply base not communicating issues, holding back new technology, and watching poor quality corkscrew Ford into the ground. Oh, forgot that there is only one way, Ford’s way. JD Power recruit will never change toxic culture.

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Post ID: @1enf+1g5o0EEX

Since 100% of quality issues currently come from Ford Blue, we should eliminate the entire team and start from scratch. We can coast on the profits of the E team until the transformation is complete.

Go E Team!

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Post ID: @1nxr+1g5o0EEX

Fallout from majority of workforce is wfh?

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Post ID: @pqj+1g5o0EEX

Why would anyone buy an electric vehicle from Ford?? They have been making gasoline vehicles for decades and can't get that right!

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Post ID: @wbq+1g5o0EEX

@yyx+1g5o0EEX "Anyone thinking you can cut resources to improve quality is insane."

Normally, I'd agree with you. In the current situation at Ford, I kind of disagree. If the company could cut BF, JF, BoD and most of the LL5 and up managers, I am sure the quality (and moral) at Ford would improve dramatically. On the other hand, cutting the highest paid technical contributors, as it seems to be the case, would only increase the quality issues.

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Post ID: @ysb+1g5o0EEX

@jvn+1g5o0EEX I agree. The problem has been "pushing costs savings up front". It is foolish to save millions now, to spend billions later. But Jim H and Jim F pushed the same thing since 2017. Cut costs up front, and pay the piper later. The proof is in the pudding, and we have been reaping what we've sown.

Penny wise and pound foolish!

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Post ID: @sbr+1g5o0EEX

Post ID: @jvn+1g5o0EEX
You are assuming that we have the engineering technical talent to design the product right the first time. The humongous problem is, we do not.

Anyone thinking you can cut resources to improve quality is insane. Leadership needs to learn properly how to manage the talent we already have. In my area, they absolutely do not have a clue.

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Post ID: @yyx+1g5o0EEX

Good that they brought in a the new top quality exec from the outside. He doesn't owe anything to the various fiefdoms and can break a few eggs to make a quality omelet. Surprised it took so long. Interesting side note, the published warranty costs are the ones they paid out...not the ones they denied responsibility for. So the true numbers are probably higher.

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Post ID: @gek+1g5o0EEX

One of my first managers at Ford had a saying, "I will give you $5 for a fix that takes $10 out of warranty" He didn't last long in the Ford environment!

Now everything is TQM'd out of the vehicle. The ROI on TQM is a drop in the bucket compared to the warranty costs. Finance run the shop, not engineering, that's why things are as bad as they are.

Give the engineers the funds to design the product right the first time, and do not handcuff them with unreasonable costs targets. The warranty costs will decrease dramatically!

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Post ID: @jvn+1g5o0EEX

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