“Following weak sales of electric vehicles, Ford will significantly reduce the number of hourly workers at the factory that makes the Ford F-150 Lightning,” local media reported.
“EV sales are growing in the United States, but…” report It added: “The pace is well below the industry’s ambitious schedule, and many consumers are turning to hybrid vehicles instead.”
“One-third of the 2,100 workers who make up the three crews at the Dearborn facility will remain. Ford will transfer 700 workers to another plant in Michigan while retaining the remaining The 700 employees will either take advantage of severance plans offered during last year’s contract negotiations with the United Auto Workers or be reassigned in southeast Michigan.
How can a multi-billion dollar company in a multi-trillion dollar industry get caught with their pants down like this?
This is what happens when you run your business as a social justice advocacy program rather than a business.
President Joe Biden stops to speak to the media while driving a Ford F-150 Lightning truck at the Ford Dearborn Development Center in Dearborn, Michigan, Tuesday, May 18, 2021. (Evan Vucci/Associated Press)
If Ford had called me and asked, Do we need to hire 2,100 people to run a factory that makes all these electric cars? This would have been my answer…
True, at first… But the average person is not going to buy an electric car. These things are too expensive and not reliable enough. For the first few months, we will sell bundles to early adopters and virtue signalers. But then the average person would hesitate due to understandable concerns about reliable and easy charging.
How could Ford not have known that?
And it’s not like I’m a genius. However, this is not a 20/20 outcome theory. I’ve been writing about these obvious hurdles to mass adaptation to EVs for years. This is common knowledge, and when you’re talking about $50,000 tickets, this is not the world. If Detroit builds it, they will come.
No matter how much corporate media propaganda, government propaganda, or environmental propaganda is influenced, ordinary people cannot afford to spend tens of thousands of their hard-earned dollars on something so unreliable. We may be able to trick people into changing the brand of toothpaste or buying tickets to a boring movie, but what about cars? An outrageous car?
no.
Celebrities, movie stars, and millionaires can afford to spend that kind of cash on what amounts to a status symbol. But the average person actually needs a car for practical purposes like getting to work, running errands, and taking the occasional vacation. Battery-powered cars may make sense one day, but for now there’s too much uncertainty and stress around charging on the road. Can I find my charger? Will my charger work? How long does it take? What if there is a line?
People just want to get in their cars and drive. No confusion. Effortlessly. No confusion. No stress. Until electric cars offer that, sales will always be limited.
Another failed move here was Ford and other car companies trying to create an artificial bandwagon effect. Would you like to own an electric car like everyone else in America? Don’t be stupid! Don’t be left behind!
Who is the bastard now?
John Nolte’s debut novel borrowed time (Bombardier Books) is now available today. You can read an exclusive excerpt here and novel review here.
