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Ford's Board Turns Up the Heat on Mark Fields


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Yes, I wasn't clear, the mall is part of the transformational campus and not just the campus. The point being, Ford is spending well over a billion dollars, probably closer to a couple billion on a 10 year investment! It's a concept somewhat similar to Auburn Hills ...and we all know what happened there! It's simply going to allow workers more wasted time with walking to this department or that department , when they could more easily use electronic conferencing. I remember, in my experiences at Ford, when I tried to reach this person or that....they were NOT at their work station because they had left to walk to another department. 10 more years on a project that is revenue neutral....and who really knows where Ford is going to be in another decade?

 

Those are good points, but today, pay and benefits (and the chance to work for an iconic company like FMC) are not enough to lure and keep good employees. You have to have something different, new, fancy workplaces, etc. It's investing in your employees. You can't make good products without good employees.

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Those are good points, but today, pay and benefits (and the chance to work for an iconic company like FMC) are not enough to lure and keep good employees. You have to have something different, new, fancy workplaces, etc. It's investing in your employees. You can't make good products without good employees.

 

I also can't imagine what those buildings look like now, they were in pretty rough shape 20 years ago when I was in them last. What Ford needs to push when it try's to recruit is the cost of living in and around the area. You're not on the Never, Never, Never plan like you would be in California or Seattle. Never going to own your house, Never going to take a vacation and Never going to retire.

 

​The way a lot of tech companies keep talent is stock options, that was the one nice things with DB pensions, they kept employees around.

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I also can't imagine what those buildings look like now, they were in pretty rough shape 20 years ago when I was in them last. What Ford needs to push when it try's to recruit is the cost of living in and around the area. You're not on the Never, Never, Never plan like you would be in California or Seattle. Never going to own your house, Never going to take a vacation and Never going to retire.

 

​The way a lot of tech companies keep talent is stock options, that was the one nice things with DB pensions, they kept employees around.

 

Even stock options aren't enough for some places anymore. That's in the future before you see the real benefit, and so many people today are just concerned about the here and now. I could make 10% more over there! Yeah, but you lose 15% due to retirement / pension differences. So what, it's 10% more pay! And look at the cool new stuff they have there! Free soda in the break room!!

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Even stock options aren't enough for some places anymore. That's in the future before you see the real benefit, and so many people today are just concerned about the here and now. I could make 10% more over there! Yeah, but you lose 15% due to retirement / pension differences. So what, it's 10% more pay! And look at the cool new stuff they have there! Free soda in the break room!!

 

​Like the people in my office where we match up to 2:1 up to 4% in retirement and they put in 0 or 1%.

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​Like the people in my office where we match up to 2:1 up to 4% in retirement and they put in 0 or 1%.

 

It was a struggle to get started with my 401K about 25 years ago. But now I just look at my balance and smile and think about all the cool things I'll be able to do after retirement in a few years while watching my neighbors buy boats and Teslas.

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It was a struggle to get started with my 401K about 25 years ago. But now I just look at my balance and smile and think about all the cool things I'll be able to do after retirement in a few years while watching my neighbors buy boats and Teslas.

 

Yup. Started with 10% and upped it to 15% a year later. It sure would be nice to have that extra income, but looking at those numbers build in my 401k is nicer. Hopefully it allows me to retire at 55 ish so I have time (and hopefully health) to enjoy retirement to the fullest.

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10 more years on a project that is revenue neutral....

 

I think those wind tunnels have no real effect on most vehicles that drive 65MPH

 

Yeah, but you've got to take that overall number with a grain of salt. That's $120M per year, which is like, .1% of their annual revenue, and some of that money would've been spent anyway on routine maintenance/upkeep.

 

Also, those wind tunnels are one of the primary ways that engineers test for and mitigate wind noise.

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I'm in San Jose and my industry supports the DOD...the big issue they have here with recruiting is that the Google's, Apple's and Intels of the area offer workers a $1000 housing stipend to employees because the cost of housing is ridiculous in the area...I had a coworker tell me that a 2 bedroom apartment in the area costs around $2400-2600 a month! My mortgage payment on a 3 bedroom house in a state with the highest property taxes in the country (roughly 1/3 of my payment is towards property taxes) is a little bit less then that and I have a 1 bedroom condo (technically 2 if you count the loft area) I rent out for $1200 a month.

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My wife's cousin works at Google and rents an apartment in Cupertino. He told us what he pays in rent for a one-bedroom apartment...it would pay the mortgage on decent house here.

 

We asked him what a house like ours - single-family home, three bedrooms, television room and two-car garage on a half-acre lot - would cost in his area. His reply - "This type of house doesn't exist for younger middle-class people in the Bay Area any more."

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My wife's cousin works at Google and rents an apartment in Cupertino. He told us what he pays in rent for a one-bedroom apartment...it would pay the mortgage on decent house here.

 

We asked him what a house like ours - single-family home, three bedrooms, television room and two-car garage on a half-acre lot - would cost in his area. His reply - "This type of house doesn't exist for younger middle-class people in the Bay Area any more."

 

See, I don't get that. Why would you put up with all that crap in order to work for Google? I mean, unless you're like a select few people, your job there couldn't possibly be that great or that liberating or that whatever. I mean, if you think that running reports or maintaining legacy code is so awesome that it justifies living in a crackerbox and driving to work in bumper-to-bumper traffic and fighting for space in overpriced bars afterwards, I'm afraid I just don't understand a big part of who you are.

 

Seriously, what's the attraction? Is the Silicon Valley myth that powerful? I mean, that has to be it, right? Like, sure, objectively, life is extremely expensive and your job isn't that great, but who knows, you might meet the right person, impress the right person, and then -blam- you're running your own startup?

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There is a big attraction to that area in general whether it's social, political, climate, whatever. And I have to say it is one of my favorite cities/areas to visit.

 

Some people actually rent closets or a few square feet of floor space for a sleeping bag in other people's houses/apartments. I don't get it personally, but to each his own.

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He was working for Google in the Pittsburgh branch office, and he owned a house in a nice suburb of the city. He was offered a position at the headquarters in California. In his words, "If you want to move up within the company, you have to eventually work at headquarters."

 

He is single, and very bright (he holds a doctorate from a very prestigious Pennsylvania university). So far, he enjoys the job, and finds California to be interesting and exciting. But he's not married and doesn't worry about having a bedroom for a child or how much daycare costs.

 

Whether he will still be living and working in California in another ten years - I get the impression even he doesn't know that. Nor is he particularly worried about it.

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There is a big attraction to that area in general whether it's social, political, climate, whatever

 

Man, I just don't see why putting yourself to that much inconvenience to live someplace 'exciting' would be worth it.

 

Of course, I remember sitting back at an apartment in the Cities once listening to these people chatter excitedly about this artist they all knew, and who his influences were and what his style was like, and I mean, I have an actual degree in art, and a solid background in art history, and I couldn't get a word in edgewise, and I flat out could not understand what they were so excited about.

 

But all of those people loved living in the Cities and knowing these exciting artists who were doing exciting things, and, I mean, this guy was ok, but all he was doing was the post-modern version of motel room artwork.

 

So, it's probably just me.

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The guys who rented that apartment later had to move out to Fridley, and they were so embarrassed that they continually insisted that there was a small portion of Minneapolis that extended north of 694, and they were technically in that, and not in Fridley--all of which was patently false. They were living in Fridley, and couldn't acknowledge it.

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...so many people today are just concerned about the here and now.

 

 

Whether he will still be living and working in California in another ten years - I get the impression even he doesn't know that. Nor is he particularly worried about it.

 

My point exactly!

 

I prefer this view out my office over anything Silicon Valley could offer me

 

post-22073-0-73586500-1494525010_thumb.jpg

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Ugh, this is my life right now. You'd think finding a experienced Wordpress developer would be an easy task in the general NYC area. I sent out a detailed experience qualifier to various agencies and I've got people coming in saying they know Wordpress and they can hardly log into it. Dude, my requirements were pretty friggin' specific. The headhunters are getting really sloppy.

 

 

I am a Chief Estimator for a General Contractor. I'll get an e mail from a recruiter saying "I saw your resume and thought you would be a great fit for our insurance sales rep in Ohio" . I've never worked in insurance or sales. I've e mailed them with the question, "what in my resume leads you to believe id be a good insurance rep?" No reply. They are just mass e mailing. drives me crazy.

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I am a Chief Estimator for a General Contractor. I'll get an e mail from a recruiter saying "I saw your resume and thought you would be a great fit for our insurance sales rep in Ohio" . I've never worked in insurance or sales. I've e mailed them with the question, "what in my resume leads you to believe id be a good insurance rep?" No reply. They are just mass e mailing. drives me crazy.

 

I'd used to get contacted by insurance companies all the time when I put my resume online. I'm starting to think it's more of a ponzi scheme than anything else.

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I'd used to get contacted by insurance companies all the time when I put my resume online. I'm starting to think it's more of a ponzi scheme than anything else.

 

Not exactly a Ponzi scheme, but more a realm where there is practically no cost whatsoever in hiring people that don't work out. They can seine the job pool and not lose much even if 90% of the people that they hire don't pan out. They're all on 100% commission.

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Thinking back over the past couple years I think the biggest mistake/misstep Ford made was not continuing the Escape hybrid and replacing it with the C-max, then the giant cockup with the MPG ratings getting restated lower for it.

 

Definitely. Although based on the success of the Prius I thought it was a good move at the time.

 

CMAX replacing Escape Hybrid

Powershift dry clutch DCT

Delayed Ecosport

Delayed Expy/Navi redo (although there was a good reason at the time)

No Aviator

MKT

MFT launch (they had the edge over everybody but screwed it up so bad the others caught up and passed them)

Delayed Ranger/Bronco

 

Things done right:

F150/Super Duty/Transit/Transit Connect

New Expy/Navigator/Continental

CD4 Edge/MKX

Focus ST/RS, Mustang, Fusion Sport

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Definitely. Although based on the success of the Prius I thought it was a good move at the time.

 

CMAX replacing Escape Hybrid

Powershift dry clutch DCT

Delayed Ecosport

Delayed Expy/Navi redo (although there was a good reason at the time)

No Aviator

MKT

MFT launch (they had the edge over everybody but screwed it up so bad the others caught up and passed them)

Delayed Ranger/Bronco

 

Things done right:

F150/Super Duty/Transit/Transit Connect

New Expy/Navigator/Continental

CD4 Edge/MKX

Focus ST/RS, Mustang, Fusion Sport

 

I'd argue that they should've added C-Max to the lineup while retaining the Escape Hybrid, and not artificially cutting off hybrid sales just so they could shift everyone to C-Max.

 

I agree with you. I would be making a Fusion Hybrid Wagon or 5 door Hatch available along with the Escape Hybrid.

 

Multiple companies have tried bringing those models here, and they sell about 30 of them a year. It's just not a worthwhile investment.

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I'd argue that they should've added C-Max to the lineup while retaining the Escape Hybrid, and not artificially cutting off hybrid sales just so they could shift everyone to C-Max.

 

Don't forget they added Fusion Energi and MKZ hybrid around the same time and I believe at the time there was a shortage of batteries and/or other components, so that may not have been possible.

 

Also - wasn't Louisville maxed out with regular Escape and MKC?

 

I think it was all of the above, but I agree that it would have been a winner.

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