Does Ford Have Too Many Engineers?

[dogememe]

Correct, the best and the brightest engineers these days aren't being recruited by Ford. And they sure don't want to live in Dearborn.
Guess where many of them want to work and who they want to work for ?

I mean if it was a remote job I'd totes work for Ford if the pay and benefits were competitive and the work environment was acceptable.

 

[IndyIan]

Correct, the best and the brightest engineers these days aren't being recruited by Ford. And they sure don't want to live in Dearborn.
Guess where many of them want to work and who they want to work for ?

I guess the question is, did 20 years ago Ford have trouble attracting and keeping top engineers? Its the guys with lots of experience and character that Ford has lost somewhere or never had? that's leading to its current slump. Recent grads are important but its the guys that have seen some stuff happen through the complete cycle and saw what worked and what didn't. The text book doesn't cover everything, and a manufacturer needs some guys that can write the next one.

 

[ArrestMeRedZ]

Just in case no one has read this:

Ford Employees Claim They Knew About The Defective PowerShift Transmission | Carscoops

It is alleged that Ford employees voiced their concerns about the gearbox design but were ignored

www.carscoops.com

Excellent article that once again proves it doesn't matter how many engineers you have, or how good they are if you put slack-jawed shoe clerks in positions of power over them.

The CEO has an undergraduate BA degree and a MBA. I'm not sure if he is qualified to comment on the engineers working for him.

 

[pbm]

To me Jim Farley is a phony. IMO YMMV

No worse than Mary Barra, IMO.

 

[JeffKeryk]

Interestingly, a few years back Ford opened an engineering office in Palo Alto to share in the local talent pool. This group is not manufacturing engineering; rather it is charged with creating a new connection between automotive and computer technologies.

You probably know, Tesla's engineering is based in Palo Alto and continues to expand. Even though Musk moved HQ to Austin (tax advantage and cheap, well educated work force) he calls Palo Alto Tesla's Engineering HQ. I believe 40% of their workforce is still in CA, even with all the global expansion.