Ford Retooling Factories in Effort to Not Cut Workers
It seems like, in this day and age, that you never know what to expect with the auto industry as crazy things have been happening. One day, we’re learning all about how an electric car is supposed to take over and the next, we’re hearing that Ford is planning on putting all of their smaller vehicles out of production as they no longer plan to produce cars, outside of the Mustang, of course, and instead are going to stick with the SUV and bigger vehicles like their trucks to propel sales forward. In short, we preface this news with that because we have to say that are compass is a bit off as to what you can expect next.
In the latest news, however, we’ve learned that General Motors is going to be making cuts in response to a climate that has made them have to change their business practices. The Detroit News cites these changes as “U.S. sales are plateauing, U.S. consumers aren’t buying the sedans that saved the U.S. automakers during the fuel crisis last decade.” On the heels of the current situation, the General is said to be laying off 6,000 salaried employees, but when you consider those who took buyouts and others who would feel the changes in some way, the number of people feeling the changes in a negative light levels up to around 14,000.
As someone who is professionally responsible for keeping an eye on the industry, I can say that it’s currently in a state of change, continuing to be dynamic at a time where consumer preference is shifting and an entirely new concept in the electric vehicle is blooming. This means that lots of money is being invested and nobody knows where the future is going to put them. You can see how this could mean a scary time for both employer and employee alike.
As of now, though, it seems like Ford is holding steady, with The Chicago Tribune telling us that Ford is making an attempt to retool some of their operations in order to cut costs along with transferring some workers to busier plants to try to avoid reducing their number of employees. This even includes a $200 million investment, says The Chicago Tribune, in a plant that will focus on self-driving cars come 2021. Only time will tell what comes of this major shift when the dust settles.
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