I did not expect to come to an ideal company, but I expected that some things would be much better organized. I thought of staying a while longer and trying to get used to the atmosphere, but it's becoming more and more obvious that it would be a waste of time. How long did it take you to realize that Ford is not a workplace where you would like to stay?
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Used to be a great place to work. Used to be a second family. Used to get good benefits. Used to have growth opportunities.
Now, it's a shitshow. People being paid to make decisions are not doing so, while collecting retention bonuses. The rest of us are just waiting for the next round of cuts.
If you want to leave, go.
Ha ha you are. Is the new guy who knows everything and getting top wages in the dept. enjoy..you will learn what the experienced people know very soon.
Took me a year and a half roughly....
I retired last year after 30+ years with the company. I was there in what I call the HAY DAY of the company. the early 90s. If you worked in TRUCK (Building #1 or DTC) you were very proud to say you worked at Ford. The Explorer was launched , we already had Ranger, F-Series . Products people wanted.
Then in 1995 comes FORD 2000. After that the company went into a decline For those of you that say we had the Expedition and 2nd generation Explorer those were planned under the pre 1995 crowd not the Troutman Nasser crowd. They were there to throw on the paint and take all the credit.
What we lost in that 10 year timeframe was leaders who understood what customers wanted. That is gone now. We use to play to win now we play to maintain or get by.
Nobody doubts we needed to change things but we did it all wrong. Look at the bench we have had for management since then?
Then you have Farley. Self proclaimed product guy. Sorry Jim . But you are no product guy. Your resume does not stack up to a Lutz or Iacocca. In fact it is "BLANK"
You come across as arrogant, Troops dislike you. No "REALISTIC" Vision or Plan.
While you were in charge of marketing we continued to loose market share, what new market segment did you create?
I feel sorry for those left. Company has lost its focus. If history has ever taught us anything is that every time the company decides to focus on non core business we fail. The common factor is if you research those venture somehow the family is involved in some form. Glad I retired. Took the Lump Sum. I do not have confidence or faith in the management team.
If I were just graduating from college right now. I would not pursue a career at Ford. I came for the benefits plain and simple. with out that carrot I would have left long ago.
@OP. I realized my mistake during the first reorg. My new LL6 was a political animal instead of a technical specialist, managing a team of highly specialized engineers. My disagreements with this LL6 were daily arguments, usually with the LL6 ignoring my technical advice and creating more chaos, that I was so close to leave this company in frustration.
Luckily, my LL6 was promoted to LL5 before the next reorg (still a terrible manager though) and things improved. My new LL6 was a very technical and knowledgeable person. Even after I stopped reporting to him, I still keep in contact. IMO, he is one of the few worthy LL6s at Ford, and maybe that's why he has not been promoted to the next level.
For all the newbies at FMC, or thinking to accept a position in this company, think again. When I started here there were so many problems, that I thought I could noticeable improve things around easily. Big mistake. The issues exist not because we have bad engineers, but because we are surrounded by bad managers.
Under the "good" LL6s I was able to make a difference, smaller than I initially thought, but still not enough IMO. I had some extra miser raises thanks to my hard work and dedication, but looking back, I can tell you that it was NOT worthy. My responsibilities have increased faster than my salary.
So why I am still here? Well, mainly money and WFH. There are not many jobs paying what I already make here (Remember those extra miser raises? They kind of add up to over $137K a year). However, I keep looking. I am even willing to consider taking a small pay cut. I have been courting some offers, but still nothing has decided me. Maybe for March/April next year, historically considered good months for new hires, I will finally leave Ford behind.
When I started in the early 90's Ford used to be a great place to work. Lots of innovation and a fun place to go to every morning. There were downs (Jac Nasser and Billy) and ups (Mulally), but nothing like this mess. This junk started when Hackett came in with his head in the clouds leadership style and continues with Farley and his head in the sand style.