Thread regarding Ford layoffs

It varies from dept to dept. I'm in AV. We're coming in maybe 1x/2wk. Which actually is reasonable.

Let's just say I'm shorting the markets, especially automotive. The same pain that came Jan 1st until now, will come again, and none of that back to the office work is going to soften the blow. It very much may hasten the decline further.

While people were too busy losing a ton in their 401ks since Jan 2022, I was too busy doubling my on the side portfolio value. Knowing where the market moves, ahead of the moves, is what makes you money, and at worst, what keeps your money. My 401k, didn't lose a penny. In Nov I moved everything to interest bearing and short term bond holdings for zero loss. Others lost 18% plus following the market down.

But, buy the dip? But, this time is different? Words spoken often by the sacrificial lambs. Zero sum game. Someone must win, someone must lose. If you didn't see the decline Jan 1st, you won't see the next one coming either. But, your portfolio WILL feel it. DYODD.

I work for GM. There are no "intangible benefits" and there will be no extra "collaboration." We collaborate now. I'm 100% sure Ford salary can relate. I hope Ford doesn't make the same mistake.
Like others have said, this RTO move will backfire badly for many reasons.
Imagine all the boss' favorites & relatives given exemptions from RTO. Only the resentful workhorses will be sitting elbow-to-elbow in "open seating" (did you see pictures of this? it's horrific). Everyone will quickly realize they are doing the same work in the office that they were doing at home on the same laptop but with long coffee & lunch breaks, distractions, and drama. It will fail. That's why I'm just going to put up with it until it does. As a bonus, we have Covid season to look forward to. Imagine that drama.
PS the irony of GM claiming to have zero crashes/emissions/congestion & being ESG but forcing their salary workers to drive in traffic is RICH! LOL wow

Work from home = 100% effort.
RTO 3x per week = much less.

Oh, you want that job done by next Monday, sure, let's see how that goes. Sorry boss, there were complications. Would you like to replace me with a fence hopper, or your oversea counterparts? That's worked out so well in the past 50 years.

Or, would you like to fire me and replace with with the limited "talent" that still have a pulse and are capable of working, after their sh*tshot?

Good effing luck. You get, what you get.

Many companies are doing this and I fail to see the point of it. If people are required to be physically there to do the job then they should be there on every work day. If they can be productive and work remote then why force them to come in x days a week?

I have read about how executives are concerned that remotes are not exposed and participating in "our culture" but that's more executive management BS. There is no such thing as "corporate culture" or "corporate values", its all invented BS to look important. Companies have processes and procedures. Employees are given assignments to complete. Performance is measured per those assignments. Its all very simple. The rest is invented BUNK!

The ‘return to work‘ order counters 180 degrees progressive companies mindset of reducing ones carbon footprint.

Environmentally speaking, with an ESG corporate mindset, RTO is wrong.

It’s not really going to happen at gm. It’s not going to be tracked and each manager is supposed to come up with a plan that works for their team. In other words, if the current WFH plan is working, nothing will change except maybe a few in person meetings once in a while to make it look like there is more collaboration.

Jac Nasser famously said "lead or leave". Ford is a leader so they will not be following GM to RTO like lemmings following each other off a cliff to their demise.

https://www.detroitnews.com/story/news/nation/2022/10/21/appeals-court-temporarily-halts-bidens-student-debt-relief-program-tdn/69582092007/

This article says “we are still rippling from the pandemic”. Biden admin using HEROES act of 2003 to justify student loan relief. We are still under national emergency.
Whether one believes in the student loan relief or not, the Biden administration believes legally we are still under national emergency, the pandemic has not subsided.

So employees need to hire legal help to leverage these same claims to continue work from home. Especially for those immunocompromised, those over 50, and those with pre-existing health conditions.

As I stated before, "Real Engineers Work On Site".

Been at the office/test facility since it was allowed under wave 1. Waaaahhhhhhhh. XD

Tesla and GM RTO? You know Ford will follow that lead, no doubt! Anyone that thought RTO was not the plan is delusional.

"CFO Paul Jacobson and Senior Vice President of Strategy and Innovation Alan Wexler — who signed the return-to-work policy, have "work from home" listed on their company profiles in GM's internal directory. The Free Press confirmed the profiles do list Jacobson as "work from home - Georgia" and Wexler as "work from home - Wyoming."

So GM also has the "do as I told you, and not as I do" policy for managers. Good to know.

"GM's hourly workforce in its factories returned to the job after an eight-week shutdown during the peak of the pandemic in 2020. Many don't identify with the salaried workers who resist going back to the office now."

One word: ENVY.

I have only one question about Ford RTO, and it is not about when is it going to be implemented, but if I'd still have a job @Ford by that time.

@rwk, if it were unsustainable we would've already been forced back already. It's been over thirty months now, pretty darn sure it's sustainable at this point.

You are all going back... You are delusional thinking work from home is sustainable! Get ready for going back to the future. Lol!

Yes Ford will use RTO to push more people out the door.

Let’s see Ford’s move. I’d be shocked not to see us fast follow 1st qtr 2023 even after being told otherwise in the recent row hall.

They're going to find those three days per week the most unproductive within the week, that management will ask people to go back to working from home.

There should flexibility in RTO. Many jobs can be done remotely, but we all work at the discretion of the company and our managers. Don't see it as a big deal to drive in twice a week. The economy is headed into a mild recession and job searches are stressful. They are looking for ways to cull the herd, across all industries.

Productivity will go down for people who really are not required to be in office and are forced to come in 3 days a week for no good reason.

@nzj+1jjrYE0l No one said anything about hating working. We just don’t need to be treated like children and forced into an office after we have proven it is unnecessary for many tasks.

“Back when you stared” webex didn’t exist so it’s not a relevant data point. We are in the 21st century now and we should act like it.

Get over yourselves. Many of us worked 30+ years in the office. Back when I started, if you supported a system, if it went down you had drive into Dearborn at o' dark 100..And stay for 24 straight hours.
If you don't like actually working, go somewhere else.

I love the focus on intangible benefits while ignoring the down sides of working in an office. A non-flexible policy that doesn't allow for people to work where they are most efficient is stupid.

Until musk says so..
Bunny face will wait for him to copy.