Thread regarding Ford layoffs

@2ekb+1jhGIblq
Right on about the 80 year cycle. Folks need to read up. This is the 4th turning.

@2ekb You have always had a choice to not go into debt for stupid sh-t. I watched coworkers buy new cars every 2 years, vacation homes, etc while being more conservative in my finances. Covid didn't change anything for me.

@2poh Already got two down votes lol. People have a hard time accepting that we are treated nothing more than cattle with some level of logic and reasoning. The food for the cattle is stupid sh-t that keeps the cattle in debt so they have to work. The task masters despise those that have choice because it’s the equivalent of the cow that will not be milked, just hangs out in the pasture enjoying life. This is the challenge they face since the pandemic. Kind of hard to motivate when you do not have to watch your as----e boss pull up in their shiny new company car. Kind of hard to inspire competition amongst the cattle when you just hear their voice and read their words but you rarely see them in person. I will adjourn with this, remember the 80 year cycle. The Revolutionary War -> The Civil War -> World War 2 -> Today (pandemic, the high potential for World War 3). Never assume this is all by accident, this was planned out years before any of us were alive.

Covid screwed everything up. Awakened a lot of people.

It's no secret ALL corporations were mobilizing their workers with laptops, years before it hit. To create a mobile workforce. Conspiracy that out or not, the point is, is that they opened the door to what had never been experienced before.

People resigned themselves to the drive. They resigned them to the eight (8) hours at work. They had this psychological state of mind that displayed to them that they had to show up to the office. Then, Covid hits and they have two to three years to figure out, the same exact results are achieved working off site. Yet, there are SOOOOO many more perks being offered while offsite.

I currently have zero motivation to be onsite. None. Zero, Ziltch. I find it appalling and demeaning, and I resent it. I have zero motivation to collaborate with strangers in their sit on your lap floorplans. I can't stand most of the people I work with, even though I bring a smile. This was strategized among every corporation the world over, like Covid was strategized the world over. Muzzle up, muzzle off. Go mobile, come in to the office. Get your shot, nah you don't need your shot. Effing coordinated on the grand stage, all locked in sync, walking ALL in unison together.

Now, they want people back in the office. GM lead the media charge. Their random BS post, then redacted was a tell. They're instructing the other corporations it's time to reign all the people back in. If you do this long enough, you can see through their BS.

Here's what they don't count on.

Little to no motivation if you mandate return to work. Spend twice the amount for people to complete your jobs, because I'm not going to work so effing hard. I will work only hard enough not to get fired, when I would work twice as hard before. People are getting injured or dying from the sh*tshot, so available talent is limited. People are retiring, so available talent is limited. Fence hoppers can't engineer or design. These corporations have been trying to replace designers and engineers for 50 years, and it's always failed. Always. They figured it out with IT, but never once, have ever figured it out in design or engineering. You can NOT, teach people that exist in the stone age, to apply rocket age techniques. It doesn't compute.

We are the captain now. We will determine what these corporations will do. Push back, or undermine the entire way.

I will summarize the major problem this company faces. Lee Iacocca framed it the best: “Success has a thousand fathers, failure is an orphan” or something along those lines. Our leaders want no association with failure so they choose to blame and disown which is ki----g the company. Additionally, when their poor decisions result in failure they orphan their idea like a red headed step child. Lock it up in the basement and feed it table scraps every so often to keep it going. Why do you think Farley ping pongs all over the place? Because he rarely manifests something that sticks. Hackett was the same. Lot of fanfare, honorable mentions, but the bottom line is abysmal. Bill Ford’s mind is a moon orbiting Pluto, focusing on anything but what keeps the money flowing into the family coffers. So until there is accountability up to the top of the house and focus on what really generates profit this company will go the way of countless others. I know this will never happen, so hey it’s been a good run.

Well, I retired earlier in the year after 34 years. I can understand this pot. I have seen good and downright poor Mangement at Ford.
Both BF & JF lack the very fundamental skills to classified as "LEADERS". They leave their troops in suspense. A true leader can provide a vision followed by a plan on how to get there.
In JF case he lacks this simple skill set. instead, he comes across as a bobblehead yes man and arrogant. Back during the BONUS WEEK DEBACLE, he appeared on one of the financial outlets comes right out and says that his work force is too old. they are not trainable, and we have too many. Thats funny since JF is over 59 and has nothing to hang his hat on for a real accomplishment. So will he voluntarily leave the company?
Then you have BF. Guy as one poster stated in another blog. was fired by his own family. Deer in head lights. Way in over his head.
So if BEEVIS & BU-----D want to turn into leaders then tell the North American workers the truth about what you are doing with Ford Blue.
There are not too many people. the NA employee cost is that much higher than those in Mexico / Brazil / & India. inside the next 36 months the bulk of the PD release will come from those regions. They just don't want to tell you that.
Mexico has a brand-new design center.

@tgk I get where you're coming from, but you really should just be doing bare minimum.

I've been through all of that before and I've learned how to just accept that things beyond my control aren't worth worrying about.

So I was one of the old people f’ed over in August. This is your government at work. Keep in mind 2025 CAFE is right around the corner and if you want to keep making $10k profit per F-series you gotta find some kinda offset for the greenies. Anybody getting an incentive from the greenies on their Explorer, Escape, or Edge?? Anyone? Buehler?

@1tsc+1jhGIblq - you are correct. Ford received billions in incentives from the government for creating and building EVs which is why all the attention is there. Plus, there is an overstock of ICE vehicles still sitting in the parking lots around the Dearborn area so the demand is there once the vehicles actually make it to the dealer lots.

@Op Yeah, I hear you. Myself, I am checking this website at least a couple of times a day because there are no official announcements, even when everybody knows cuts are coming. So better to rely on rumors than on nothing.

BTW, every conversation I have with coworkers end with this topic. People are afraid of the unknown, not sure what to do.

While 2007-2009 was rough externally at least Ford had decent leadership at that time.

It seems like the current leadership is clueless on how to run a company and pushing out anyone that knows how to build vehicles. Hard to be optimistic in this environment.

It has always been like this. You just didn't notice as much when you were younger because you weren't part of the primary target group.

But 2023 will be a totally different story

Ford has been through 22 US recessions and depressions. They are sitting on a billions in cash, slashed legacy costs. Sales are down but Ford is selling everything they can build, without rebates and incentives, and 2022 will show a profit. Too too many recalls and not everybody loves EVs but you can't seriously say bankruptcy is right around the corner.

Will ford be around after the next recession? If capitalism works then all the walking dead companies will be extinguished… I wonder who will throw ford lifeline this time? Federal gvnt and states they do business in (not to mention foreign countries)? Is the family ready for the next recession???? Will it be enough??? Will ford be to small to save and forced to merge by gvnt? Put your hands out now ford..time to start pan handling early..

2007-2009 was way worse. We were told if there weren't enough takers for the Company wide VSSP, there would be cuts. We had to wait months and months for the cuts to occur. The job market was abysmal, 401(k)s tanked (way worse than now), and nobody could sell their house.

This year, housing prices are still sky high, the job market is good, and if you want to semi-retire, you can work part time at Home Depot for $20 an hour. The stock market is down but it if you take the lump sum by 11/30, it is a good opportunity to buy low or get fantastic rates on interest bearing investments.

I am sorry for those who got cut this year but they got a large severance (which most employees do not give) and many were planning on retiring anyway.

Toughen up!

In 2007-2009 I was told I was too valuable to the company. In 2019 ai was SRDed.

I thought I was the only one. Working as hard as I can, churning out the work still, but so distracted. Cannot concentrate.

During the horrible crash of 2007/8/9, unlike what has happened at Ford, employees were all informed of layoffs. People had time to plan what was about to happen. Ford's current leadership are cowards. The right thing would have been to offer VSSP to everyone first. You should fee anxiety about your job, no one is safe. Make no mistake, the August involuntary separations are ageism and nepotism at its worst. The consequences of Bill/ Jim's actions will be felt for years to come.

Oh, I don’t know - 2007->2009 was pretty depressing 😜