For those of you who have gone through layoffs at Ford, do contractors usually get cut first or is it the poor performers?
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@1zkc+1n7CJ5Ma The fundamental difference between contractors and FTE is the future obligations. A contractor gets paid an amount of money, period. A FTE receives medical coverage (cost varies every year), vacation time (obligation to be paid, particularly in the case of layoffs), raises and bonuses (increasing the cost of FTEs), maternity leave (more obligations), pension/401K contributions (another obligation with variable costs) and the real possibility of suing the company for breaching the contract (especially during layoffs).
BTW, contractors don't get paid more than FTEs, if you include all the FTE's perks. It just seems so because nobody looks at the perks as "income". So if you buy an F-150 as an FTE, and get 10K off the price, it is a "perk", but it allowed you to keep 10K more of your own income.
Now, the issue with the FTE's perks is twofold. One, they are overpriced. Let's say the company will be providing a $500 medical test coverage. Based on the number of employees, the company gets a discount of $100 per FTE. So while the company is paying $400 per FTE for the new "perk", the actual value provided is still $500. Two, not all FTEs use all the perks every year. As in the example, if an FTE didn't use the medical test coverage "perk", the FTE "lost" the $500 "savings" that year.
Contractors get more money and no perks, but they can allocated their monies to the expenses they have or need. That's why some prefer contracting to FTE. To each their own.
Performance has no bearing on it.
@wrt+1n7CJ5Ma i think that is only partly true why we have contractors. i heard that full time headcount (ford employees) gets accounted for as some sort of long term cost on the books, but contractors are just a yearly expense. employees = fixed cost, contractors = variable cost, type of thing. so they can actually end up paying more to contractors short term than for ford employees because it comes out of different pots of money. but i am no accountant so i dont know the tricks they pull, or, rather, the methods they use. maybe some finance guy on this site can weigh in.
@OP. In some cases, all contractors are laid off first, followed with FTEs. However, last year they laid off some FTEs and contractors in the same day. BTW, not all contractors were let go then.
Targets are generally older higher-pay FTEs.
Makes sense, doesn't it?
If you are not in the friends and family plan you are next !!!
Atleast be a b**t li---r
Ford and Chrysler gave their contract workers mandatory pay cuts (10%) by the way. Some agencies ate the costs and cut elsewhere, but other didn't.
This goes for purchased service.
Just ask around - it was about 3 years ago here.
In March 2022, contractors and some FTE's were laid off. In August, only FTE's right?
Correct me if this is wrong.
I was a contractor 'back in the day' and saw FTEs let go while I remained. Remember - Ford is cheap and so if you can produce some value as a contractor you might remain.
Both prior commenters are also correct. Also - Sometimes Ford uses contracting to 'prove out' and find a 'good catch'. Other times it's just a money-grubbing politics game where people livelihood are at stake. I was a contractor for 5+ years and after 2004 there were no more pensions, then I was finally hired full time. Ford is cheap, cheap, cheap - just ask any supplier !
Yes, there are contractors getting fired. Layoffs sound like a "return" someday. Jobs are being moved permanently to Mexico, India and Brazil.
Contractors are always first. That is what we have contractors.
It depends. I have seen it where contractors go first, no ifs ands or buts. But some of the time a good contractor will keep their job over a bad employee. Its hard to get rid of an employee but if they have been put on a PEP or the supervisor had it in for them, the clock is ticking.