Feb 6, 2023
Ford Has 25% More Engineers Doing Same Work as Rivals, CEO says
Bloomberg News
,![James Farley, president and chief executive officer of Ford Motor Co., speaks during the 2022 CERAWeek by S&P Global conference in Houston, Texas, U.S., on Thursday, March 10, 2022. CERAWeek returned in-person to Houston celebrating its 40th anniversary with the theme "Pace of Change: Energy, Climate, and Innovation.", Bloomberg James Farley, president and chief executive officer of Ford Motor Co., speaks during the 2022 CERAWeek by S&P Global conference in Houston, Texas, U.S., on Thursday, March 10, 2022. CERAWeek returned in-person to Houston celebrating its 40th anniversary with the theme "Pace of Change: Energy, Climate, and Innovation."](/polopoly_fs/1.1880069.1675702532!/fileimage/httpImage/image.jpg_gen/derivatives/landscape_620/james-farley-president-and-chief-executive-officer-of-ford-motor-co-speaks-during-the-2022-ceraweek-by-s-p-global-conference-in-houston-texas-u-s-on-thursday-march-10-2022-ceraweek-returned-in-person-to-houston-celebrating-its-40th-anniversary-with-the-theme-pace-of-change-energy-climate-and-innovation.jpg)
(Bloomberg) -- 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 Chief Executive Officer Jim Farley’s latest interview.
“It takes us 25% 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 Feb. 10. “I can’t afford to be 25% less efficient.”
Farley said last week that Ford missed out on about $2 billion in profits last year as a result of avoidable expenses and supply-chain issues. He pledged to cut $2.5 billion in costs this year and said job cuts are on the table.
In August, Ford eliminated about 3,000 positions, most of which were in the US. The German union IG Metall warned last month that it’s expecting about 3,200 reductions across Europe. Bloomberg reported in July of last year that Ford was preparing to cut as many as 8,000 jobs.
Last week, Ford announced it would reduce bonuses for hundreds of top executives, including Farley, who’s been CEO since October 2020. The automaker’s shares have almost doubled during his tenure.
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