Ford uses 25% more engineers doing same work as rivals, Farley says

[Hammered]

They seem to have found a way to further skew the pareto distribution. Normally 80% of the load is carried by 20% of the force. Seems ford has found a way for 15% of the force to carry 80% of the load. Typical legacy auto...

They could fire 50% of the workforce and have no appreciable loss on the output side. Give the rest a raise.

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[MachKet]

The points redemption being delayed shortly after the announcement is a perfect example how incompetent the software team is.

 

[Jimrpa]

They've done it for salaried too. They got a 1000 to retire last year when they informed them that their lump-sum retirement option were going to be reduced.

https://www.usatoday.com/story/mone...e-pension-warning-interest-rates/10858144002/

Ford doesn’t have a pension anymore?

 

[azerik]

Wrong. None. Just wait for the OTA to roll out, someone else will change the bulb and the 5 engineers will take another lunch.

 

[Hammered]

don't forget the union rep to supervise it's being done according to (insert arbitrary line here that justifies the union)

 

[A-A-Ron]

How many ICE powertrain engineers to you need for an EV? I bet its a lot less.

Automatic transmission - no
Emissions - no
Engine Control system - no
fuel system - no
Cooling - less

HVBJB designers - no

 

[Pioneer74]

Ford doesn’t have a pension anymore?

No hourly hired after 2008, I believe. Salaried, I think they lost them around 2003 or 4 for new hires.

 

[Pioneer74]

What level? As far as I know they were eliminated. Excluding the usual golden parachute, of course.

 

[kennethjk]

They have 25% too many engineers compared to competition and they still have a lot of problems.

you could live with excess people if the product was flawless (I know most things aren’t flawless) or superior.

who is supervising the show over there?

at the end of the day management bears responsibility.

 

[RodMachE]

Per automotive news

Ford Motor Co.’s engineering ranks may bear the brunt of additional job cuts the automaker has alluded to in the wake of disappointing earnings, judging from CEO Jim Farley’s latest interview.

“It takes us 25 percent more engineers to do the same work statements as our competitors,” Farley said on “Cars & Culture with Jason Stein,” a SiriusXM radio show that will air the interview on Friday. “I can’t afford to be 25 percent less efficient.”

I guess that says it all about Fords engineers

That is his message for Ford’s BoD to set his financial goal to reduce the size of the engineer team and get his bonus …

 

[DadzBoyz]

Definitely what you need is overworked engineers, that'll do it

That’s not what he’s talking about, or how it works.

A large legacy maker, like Ford, has 4 types of engineers:
1. The “Bah Humbugs”: 35 years with the company, waiting on a pension. When new ideas come up, it’s their job to say “No. That won’t work.” Their secondary job is to answer “Because we’ve always done it that way.” when asked why we’re using 1.25 miles more cabling than is needed or twice as much coolant tubing as required.
2. The “My Turns”: 25 years with the company, waiting to be the senior person that can make the same crappy decisions that the “Bah-Humbugs” have made for 10 years longer than them. If you’re lucky, you’ll get a new warning label or new blinker and wiper stalk designs out of them.
3. The “Practical Innovators”: 10 years in the business. They’ve seen 2-3 new vehicle programs from start to finish. This group actually has some NEW ideas and the ability to get them to production, if they can get past the “Bah Humbugs” and the “My Turns”.
4. The “Dreamers”: Just graduated and this is their first real job. They come up with ideas like push button door openers and dial gear selectors. The problem is that “Dreamers” also came up with the Pontiac Aztec, in car Keurigs, and car doors that open down and act like fold out steps on a plane.

Ford needs to chop the first two and keep the newer blood.

 

[macchiaz-o]

This discussion makes me think of those old guys meeting up at the Dunkin Donuts early on a weekday morning to discuss how yesterday's political blunder and last night's game wouldn't have sucked so bad if they'd only done all of the things differently.

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