Thread regarding Ford layoffs

These types of forums do end up an echo chamber as another user pointed out below. And any comments that don't follow the suit are mercilessly downvoted. The thing to remember is that none of these people would actually say any of these things in the workplace or directly to the people leaders that they dispose. This is their outlet...

OP here. I'm not a Jr employee. I spent two decades at other companies. I know about the pension some of you are planning for which makes you think you can't leave. That's bunk. I've got more in savings then you'll ever see in your pension.

But the fact that you all think Ford "owes" you anything is the problem. Stop thinking that and go out and get what you want, don't rely on a company that will probably be gone in a few years for anything!

By the way, I'll be putting in my notice as I just got the other offer. So I don't care whether or not any of you heed this advice or not.

@OP this is not a new phenomena at Ford
When I started in 1999 there were 30 people in the direct group.I was an experienced hire.
The first month I was there one coworker told me he wasn’t going to do any work because he was going to retire soon and so I should perform all his job responsibilities. I later learned that his retirement date was 10 years away. No worries I automated his job. He sat and played euchre and drank beer all day long in the break room for 10 years and retired.
Two coworkers refused to be on call because they were tenured, so I was required to be on all 7x24x365 to pick up the slack. No worries I cleaned up all their sloppy work and automated processes so that I did not receive off hours pages.
8 coworkers had set themselves up as the team gatekeepers and refused to help other teams and refused to enable purchased software. No worries I met with teams behind their backs and properly installed and enabled software for use. The 8 couldn’t and wouldn’t do any work just were power-tripping their way to retirement and had self-proclaimed themselves as SMEs
Another 9 were quietly retired on the job, they just dr-g their heels on work so that it was assigned to someone else and people stopped asking them to do any work.

So you see even 20+ years ago 2/3 of the workforce was dis-engaged and entitled.

I suspect it is even worse now as the engaged hard workers had the highest salary and so were purged by Ford. The dregs who have been retired on the job since 1999 are still at Ford.

Cut in August had exactly 22 years in. Lost 75% of the pension I would have received if I was employed for 30 years. I assume I was let go because of my salary and pension obligation. Got a job within a month of being laid off; in my 3rd month at the new place. My severance effectively turned into an 8 month bonus.

I won't say more as it will only be negative thoughts.

Anybody under 55 right now with pension rights will be getting laid off before they get there. My sources tell me 5,000 more to go to reach the 15,000 planned 4 years ago.
Here’s how much it will hurt you. 25 years in the company will get you a little over 25% of your pension. Plus the interest rate changes will take 20-25% off that number. People are saying I’ll wait till they let me go then I’ll get a little more pension. Big mistake get out now. Find a better job with growth potential it’ll make you more than hanging on and hoping you’ll slip the net. Plus you’ll be happier in your life. I know some that did this after seeing the first people robbed of their pensions. They are much happier and have a better future.

@OP
I don't think "entitled" is the correct word. "Betrayed" is probably more accurate. Pensioner salaries are not nearly as lucrative as those who have hired in during the last 5-10 years. Pensioners were ok with that, knowing they would receive a pension, whereas those making substantially more than them would not.

Keep in mind that during prior times of crisis, such as 2008, Pensioners received no merit, no AICP and the 401k match was suspended for a few years. They had been told this belt tightening and sacrifice was necessary in the present to secure the future and when the "turbine machine" took off, they reap the rewards. That never came to fruition. Therefore, their ability to save for retirement was also impacted.

So, I'd say the Pensioners are frustrated that the company never lived up to their end of the bargain. And now, with the company targeting them for dismissal, they feel used and betrayed. Their loyalty to the company through times of crisis has been disregarded, all in the name of corporate greed. Nobody wants to work forever.

Where were you 10 years ago???? If you are d-mb enough to stay for another 10 years..we will ask you ……why you feel entitled having completed 20 or more years…..then you will know….

@OP

As a junior employee you probably know nothing about the golden handcuffs.

The senior employees have way too much to lose by leaving after 20+ years of employment. Pension is the biggest thing. Most of the 20+ year employees that see the incompetence and injustice every day just come to work each day and play the game. Do what is asked & say what is expected. Bullsh-t talk always baffles incompetent management brains.

People are just putting in their time and looking forward to retirement.

@OP. Ford employees hired before 2004 are "chained" to the company for the pension. They are not free to leave the company like you. Even the ones with no pension, is harder for them to leave due to ageism. Besides, Ford benefits have been reduced, slowly but surely, in the last decades, and they noticed.

Now, some of the bi-----g may be just old age, a character trait, or just disenchanted with how their lives turned to be. I am not that old, but I am getting grumpier too: I get aches in my body, I notice how my body is showing me what my future is going to be, I am "wiser" now and see through many smoke screenings like "affirmative action", DEI and the clown Jim Farley, and I am still unable to fix the world, or at least my world, while I am still pushing my boulders in life. Remember to walk a mile in someone else's shoes before judging them.

@OP : “of the layoffs you've survived, all of ups and downs of the industry, the shift (right or wrong) in strategic direction, shouldn't you just be glad to still have your job?”

I find this statement interesting. Do you not see in your statement how much people have had to walk through to work at Ford? To work that long at Ford you had to endure many hardships along the way. Why is it so difficult to understand that people would like to be taken care of with good benefits and preferred work locations while they give their best to Ford? How hard is that considering the stress we have all endured? Tell me about all the good times. Where are those stories?

Under 5 months? Has this company hired anyone externally in the last 12 months? LOL

OP,Just under 10?
Probably 5months?

The bonus thing was different though. That was just wrong. Where you sit, at what kind of desk and whether you have to come into they office or not, and things of that ilk, the OP is right. We have a lot of give me give me give me mentality in the company. Which is why many will be shocked when they are laid off in 2023. The NA work force is done, that writing is on the wall. If you're not looking for a job now then you're stupid.

Things cannot be fixed if they're not brought to management attention. Our bonuses were doubled last year due to those type of people raising a stink.

you're not gonna get much traction here

This board is a massive sounding board/echo chamber for the same type of buffoon