Certainly seems so from both the news and other forums here.
Which prompts the question: where exactly are we supposed to find new employment if and when we are laid off from Ford?
If everybody is either laying off or in the midst of a hiring freeze, then the idea of being laid off is much worse then at other times when we have options.
If you go to work for a Chinese/Indian company prepare to be underpaid and miserable with zero chance of getting promoted. You will also have to deal with extreme s-xism and racism as well with constant micromanaging. For example look at Nexteer's site. They were purchased by the Chinese. All the important people are now Chinese, all non-Chinese were phased out immediately and you will never get there unless you are Chinese from China. Even if you are an American born Chinese you still will never promoted or be good enough for them. Stay away from those S**t shows!
There's zero diversity of your resume offers diversity. What have you done?
In the world of engineering, sure you have mechanical, electrical, and dimensional. Have any design to go with that? Interiors, exteriors, archetural, electrical and wiring, GD&T, industrial, what are you bringing to the market???
I was offered multiple job offers from each unique portion of my resume. The came in at once, and I had a great time deciding for the best pay / per work life balance.
Are you a one trick pony? One trick ponies have a lot of competition.
GM is dead. Ford, dead. FCA, not so much currently. However, some of the tier 1's are thriving. Their customer base expands well beyond any single OEM. They learned in 2008.
Not all automakers are in trouble. Things will get better.
Trump talking raising tariffs to 25%. Things could get ugly
It depends on your skill set. Autonomous vehicles, connected vehicles, infotainment, electric powertrains, electric vehicles in general, these areas are growing and there are a lot of small companies, or US affiliates of Chinese, Japanese, and Korean companies that are looking for people. If your skill set is in pushing outdated paperwork around or managing contractors to do the work then no jobs are available.
The Big 3 have always been inbred clubs where mediocre workers protect their own and most work gets done by contractors. Those who were truly working will be able to dust off their resume and find a job, but perhaps not in Michigan. A relocation may be required to get a decent stable auto job moving forward.
Yes; but this is bigger than the US automakers:
https://amp.businessinsider.com/carpocalypse-cars-automobile-sales-data-us-europe-2019-3
The market has been contracting since 2017.
The industry (as we know it) is contracting/going away.
China & India are looking like Winners.
US & Europe... are not.
Perhaps, seriously consider a career change
Yes, the formerly Big 3 seem to have cornered the market on dolts. Current senior leadership are overpaid corporate hacks. They can only form partnerships with innovators or attempt to buy them. The simple fact is true innovators and true believers do not work for dolts. The Formerly Big 3 cannot survive without the innovators, the innovators can survive without the Big 3. The perpetual Ford problem the dolts ban together and exploit the innovator (take credit, assign blame), the innovator leaves and takes like minded coworkers with him/her. The dolts multiply, folks complain about the bloat, the dolts are put in charge of de-bloating and eliminate the non-dolts. Around and around we go, circling the drain. -end rant-
The Chinese car market has been larger than the US car market for awhile and the Indian car market is rapidly growing. China is going all electric, and the EU is heading in that direction. I bet BYD and Tata motors would be perfectly willing to hire former US automaker employees, if you're willing to work at the prevailing market wage. Both of them are making cars that are sub $2000, so expect your compensation to adjust accordingly, but at least, the cost of living in India and China is low as well.
GM's future growth depends on making cars that can sell into the Chinese and Indian markets. Even within US plants, the cost of labor for Ford is 50% higher per worker than VW/Audi's and BMW because of UAW deals, never mind cars that can actually sell internationally. Shanghai Auto (GM's Chinese arm) took 100% of GM's tech when they bailed out their American counterpart in 2008. The Chinese and Indians are coming with cheap cars with increasing quality. Sony destroyed Zenith and RCA, then Samsung destroyed Sony, now Huawei rising to the top. The same byplay is coming in the auto industry, only this time, China has the superior edge in high tech manufacturing AND cost of labor, but major disadvantages in corruption and quality control, though companies like Apple seem to manage to make Foxconn make do their bidding just fine.
Work for less, maybe substantially less. Ford workers are compensated on average 50% more than other nameplates Stateside, and as much as 500% more than their foreign counterparts. There's a market for your skills at the right price in the right location, whether it's in Tennessee, Shenzhen, or Bangalore. UAW level compensation will only drive Ford, GM, and Chrysler into bankruptcy in the long run.
This is much needed F and GM are bloated pigs, pensions are antiquated money losers for them as well. Prepping in advance for next recession as well. Ford made big profit in 1Q going to be a great year on profits.
Seems that the writing’s on the wall...auto sales expected to slow in US, high costs to support AV development. All OEMs trying to rein in costs before it’s too late