Tag: Ford

Ford Reports Devastating Losses Thanks to Electric Vehicle Gamble

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Major U.S. automaker Ford blamed its sizable investment in electric vehicle (EV) company Rivian for its dramatic revenue decline in the first quarter of 2022.

Ford reported revenue of $34.5 billion between January and March, a 5% decline relative to the same period in 2021, and a net loss of $3.1 billion, according to the company’s earnings report released Wednesday. The Detroit automaker said its large investment in Rivian accounted for $5.4 billion in losses during the first quarter.

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Commentary: President Biden Sides Against Union Rank-and-File

RealClearWire

While rank-and-file union members embraced President Trump, virtually every major union endorsed Joe Biden. A quietly issued Labor Department regulation helps explain this disconnect. President Biden has put union leaders first — even at the expense of union members.

Late last year, the Labor Department rescinded Trump Administration union transparency regulations. These regulations would have required union trust funds — like apprenticeship funds and strike funds — to disclose their receipts and expenditures.

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Commentary: Unions Aligning with America First

RealClearWire

After intense negotiations, the United Auto Workers secured a new agreement with Ford, General Motors, and their suppliers that effectively prohibits a vaccine mandate for employees by requiring only “voluntary” disclosure of vaccination status for union members. This hard-won validation for workers points to a larger opportunity for the America First movement and organized labor to acknowledge that they are natural allies.

On critical issues ranging from medical privacy to border security and foreign trade, the emerging populist and nationalist consensus of the New Right creates an obvious home for unionized Americans. The America First cause can, in turn, help revitalize private-sector unions and guarantee a more prosperous society for our country, with a stronger middle class through a better diffusion of economic and political power.

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Special Session Legislation Increases Safeguards Related to COVID-19, but Some Legislators Say Concessions for Big Business and the Federal Government Leave Tennesseans Unequally Protected

Laura Baigert

The legislation that emerged in Saturday’s early morning hours from the three days of the 112th Tennessee General Assembly’s Third Extraordinary Session provided a number of safeguards against COVID-19 mandates, but some legislators say concessions to accommodate big business and funding from the federal government also resulted in unequal protection for some Tennesseans against COVID mandates.

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Tennessee State Representatives Grills and Zachary Propose Bill that Would Provide Unemployment Benefits to Workers Who Quit over Vaccine Mandates

Kaitlin Housler

Tennessee lawmakers in the General Assembly introduced a bill Friday that would ensure that Tennesseans who quit their jobs over vaccine mandates receive unemployment benefits. Representative Rusty Grills (R-Newbern) is sponsoring the bill while Representative Jason Zachary (R-Knoxville) signed on as a co-sponsor.

Currently, voluntarily quitting a job typically disqualifies someone from receiving unemployment. In some cases, the vaccine requirements, including from President Biden, include a weekly COVID-19 testing option.

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Tennessee Approves $884M in Funding, Creates Board for $6B Ford Project

The Center Square

The Tennessee Legislature finished its special session on Ford’s $5.6 billion electric truck project Wednesday by approving $884 million in spending and creating a Megasite Authority of West Tennessee board to oversee operations.

“This is the largest single economic investment in rural Tennessee’s history,” Gov. Bill Lee said. “… It is, most importantly, a win for western Tennessee’s workforce.”

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Michigan Missing Out on Ford’s Joint $11.4B Electric Vehicle Factories in Tennessee, Kentucky

The Center Square

Despite Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s claim that Michigan is the future of electric vehicles (EVs), Ford Motor Company and battery maker SK Innovation announced plans to build three new plants in Kentucky and Tennessee.

The new plants, which will host production of electric vehicles and advanced lithium-ion batteries by 2025, will cost roughly $11.4 billion to build and create a projected 11,000 jobs.

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Big Three Automakers Reinstate Mask Mandates for All Workers

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America’s largest automobile manufacturers, along with United Auto Workers (UAW), will require all employees to wear masks again starting Wednesday.

The decision was made by a COVID-19 task force comprised of health officials from UAW, Ford, General Motors and Stellantis, which manufactures Dodge and Chrysler vehicles. All workers, both vaccinated and unvaccinated, have to wear masks at plants, office buildings, and warehouses, UAW announced in a statement Tuesday.

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Gov. DeWine Discusses Ohio COVID Updates

Ben Kolodny

Governor Mike DeWine discussed programs Wednesday aimed at helping Ohio deal with COVID.

In an emailed press release, DeWine’s office announced the creation of a new demographic dashboard which will allow those interested to break down COVID cases by race and ethnicity, as well as age and county. DeWine said the “dashboard will help better track health inequities and disparities” and that “this data will also help put critical decisions into context for policymakers.”

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Free Admission to the Country Music Hall of Fame December 15

Bethany Bowman

The Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum is pleased to partner with the Ford Motor Company Fund for the museum’s 11th Ford Community Day, on Sunday, December 15. Museum admission will be FREE from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. next Sunday, as a way to say “thank you” to the Middle Tennessee community and to reward lucky out-of-town visitors. Tours of Hatch Show Print and Historic RCA Studio B will also be free and are available on a first-come, first-served basis.

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Ford to Cut 7,000 Jobs, 10 Percent of Global Staff

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  Ford plans to cut 7,000 jobs, or 10 percent of its global workforce, as part of a reorganization as it revamps its vehicle offerings, the company said Monday. The reorganization will involve some layoffs and reassignments and should be complete by the end of August, a Ford spokeswoman said. Ford has been phasing out most sedan models in the United States as more consumers have opted for pickup trucks and sport utility vehicles. The move, which began last year, will lead to 800 layoffs in North America in total, including about 500 this week, said Ford spokeswoman Marisa Bradley. The company has yet to determine the specifics in other regions, she said. “As we have said, Ford is undergoing an organizational redesign process helping us create a more dynamic, agile and empowered workforce, while becoming more fit as a business,” Bradley said. “We understand this is a challenging time for our team, but these steps are necessary to position Ford for success today and yet preparing to thrive in the future.” Ford had signaled it expected significant job cuts in April 2018 when it announced a plan to phase out several small models in North America. At the same…

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Detroit Auto Show, and Industry, Prepare for Transition

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The auto industry gathered in Detroit on Sunday, on the eve of the last winter edition of North America’s premiere auto show, as carmakers grapple with a contracting market and uncertainty in the year ahead. Concerns over the health of the global economy and a US-China trade war loomed over the North American International Auto Show, as it prepared to open Monday with the first five days dedicated to the media and industry insiders. The show opens to the general public on January 19. While a number of major announcements were expected – including an anticipated strategic alliance between Ford and Volkswagen – there will be fewer automakers and new car unveilings, making it more subdued. “This is a transition year for the Detroit show,” said analyst Michelle Krebs of Autotrader. “It’s kind of emblematic of where the industry is. We’re in a transition in the industry.” After a 10-year boom, analysts expect North American auto sales to contract in 2019, as consumers face pressures and carmakers grapple with multiple uncertainties. Rising interest rates and car prices have squeezed car buyers, and fewer of them are able to afford increasingly pricey, technology-heavy cars. Kelley Blue Book predicted the average new-car…

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On WKRN’s This Week With Bob Mueller, Steve Gill Says ‘Phil Bredesen Is Not A Centrist’

Julie Carr

Tennessee Star Political Editor Steve Gill  was a guest on WKRN’s This Week With Bob Mueller and chatted with Bob about how Phil Bredesen would vote if elected to the Senate and how contrary to popular belief, he was not a “centrist.” Gill commented, “I don’t believe Phil Bredesen at all.  I want Dr. Ford’s team to polygraph him on this because I don’t believe that if he was actually there he would cast his vote.  Only one Democrat Joe Manchin is thinking about.  I don’t think that you would have Phil Bredesen go against the whole grain of the Democratic party if he was actually there.  And I think the real test is not what people believe Phil Bredesen would do in this case, it’s hogwash, but it’s what he would do in the next one.” Gill questioned whether people are paying attention to the news as Phil Bredesen has planned to head to New York City to meet with Michael  Bloomberg who will help raise him a lot of money and wondered how folks can believe, that if he becomes Senator, will actually vote for their Tennessee values. “He’s donated half a million dollars to the most liberal extremists…

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