Ford caused quite a stir with their announcement of its ground-up electric vehicle, the Model e. It was widely perceived as semantic automotive sacrilege when they chose Mustang as its name - as such two-door sports cars usually feature powerful V8 engines with massive horsepower outputs. Ford stands to gain greatly from redeveloping Ontario Place. But at what cost will they incur this endeavor? Contract Workers As waves of immigrants arrived in America during the late 19th and early 20th centuries, prejudices and fears flourished. One such prejudice was Ford's anti-Semitism which he expressed through anti-Semitic articles published by The Dearborn Independent newspaper. Ford believed Jewish people controlled every aspect of society, such as unions, banks, newspapers and paranoiac rumor mills; due to this paranoia he even published the notorious Protocols of Elders of Zion forgery as published in his paper The Dearborn Independent newspaper. He strongly opposed urbanization, modern music and movies, theater performances, new dress styles and loosening social mores; to control his employees more efficiently and ensure the company remained profitable, he insisted they speak only English within their workplaces. This helped ensure effective management and maximize company output. Ford has come under scrutiny for their treatment of contract workers who have worked at the automaker for decades, who receive lower hourly pay than salaried employees without benefits or overtime pay, no guarantee of employment at contract's end, no right to retire on company property and no pension benefits. Ford has had to shell out millions in settlement payments related to claims of discrimination and sexual harassment brought forward by employees. Ford's decision to lay off contract workers marks yet another chapter in an ongoing controversy over how it treats its workforce. NDP MPP Kristyn Wong-Tam of Toronto Centre and an MP for Ontario Place has said Ford's plan to redevelop the site shows their "blatant disregard for its workforce's wellbeing". Henderson acknowledges the potential difficulties associated with discussing sensitive subjects, but believes if people are willing to discuss these matters they are more likely to understand and respect others in their workplace. She will soon lead an initiative with over 30 employee volunteers from different backgrounds representing across the company who will pilot solutions to reduce bias. Henderson said these pilot projects represent Ford's latest step toward becoming an ideal employer, noting her desire for more of its employees - including senior leaders - to apply the principles of inclusivity at work and share this knowledge with their communities. Salaried Employees Ford Motor Company stands out among large industrial corporations as having a mixed legacy when it comes to workplace accountability. On one hand, Henry Ford revolutionized automobile production and laid the groundwork for America's middle class by pioneering liveable factory wages; on the other hand, however, he sought aggressively to socially engineer workers' lives and despised labor unions, which he once described as a global Jewish conspiracy. Ford launched his factory at this time with $5 per day wages for unskilled workers - nearly double their average wages at the time. Ford's success remains legendary today and lends credence to the idea that higher than market wages create a larger middle class, increase worker purchasing power and make businesses more prosperous - though reality may differ significantly. Though Ford's $5 per day wage helped reduce employee turnover, it wasn't sufficient to meet demand for its Model T cars and so the company had to hire and fire employees continuously in order to maintain a stable workforce. Furthermore, employees found less motivation to work harder or take fewer breaks due to such low wages, leading to productivity problems and increasing absenteeism rates. Ford responded to these challenges by employing "production control" methods that effectively turned workers into machines. These included setting standard working hours, mandating clock-out machines at shift ends and restricting breaks - all done to increase efficiency but at the expense of morale and quality workmanship. At that time, numerous Ford plants around the world organized local unions; in 1985 the inaugural worldwide conference of rank-and-file Ford workers was held in Liverpool, England. Subsequent meetings have taken place across North America, Brazil, Malaysia, South Africa Australia New Zealand Japan. Ford's multi-billion cost-cutting efforts during 2019 included targeting older salaried workers for layoff. Documents obtained by the Detroit Free Press as part of a lawsuit filed against them indicate this strategy involved hiring an outside firm that developed an algorithm which determined which salaried employees could be fired by using variables such as birthdate and service years as factors in its decision process. Workplace Safety Ford is cutting its salaried workforce as part of its efforts to save money during its transition from gas-powered vehicles to electric cars, which requires massive cost cutting measures in order to survive this shift. They hope to avoid paying labor costs associated with building more gas-powered cars while quickly transitioning towards products which will become a majority share in North American market share. Unfortunately, this has caused tensions with their salaried employees who must work fewer hours while receiving less pay from Ford. This class-action lawsuit alleges that anyone born within the last several decades is likely to be replaced with younger workers more qualified for the job, via forced ranking procedures which disproportionately target older employees, and which the company knows have discriminatory tendencies. As a result, this claim seeks compensatory damages and reimbursement of lost income. Additionally, the lawsuit alleges that older workers are subjected to racial and sexual harassment from management at its plants. As part of their complaint against this behavior, plaintiffs want the company to stop harassing older workers while taking steps to improve workplace culture at its locations. Ford employees signed a letter asking it to review how it sells its police vehicles after incidents like police using Ford Police Interceptors to shoot protesters in Minneapolis and use these vehicles for chemical weapon deployment against Black Lives Matter protesters in New York and Los Angeles. These workers cited incidents such as these incidents which involved firing upon protesters by those driving these Ford vehicles; such vehicles have also been used against protesters using them against chemical weapons during Black Lives Matter protests in these cities. Letter signed by approximately 100 Ford employees has been delivered to CEO Jim Hackett of Ford for consideration, who responded publicly by thanking people who raised this issue while promising significant change without discontinuing production or sales of Police Interceptors to law-enforcement departments. Ford has an extensive record of labor disputes, particularly in Britain where major strikes took place against Ford in 1978 and 1988 in order to resist demands that exceeded what union contracts stipulated. Workplace Culture Henry Ford revolutionized American manufacturing, making automobiles accessible to the masses while pioneering liveable factory wages for workers. But his wider legacy was more complicated: He actively sought to control his workers while harboring anti-Semitic beliefs; for instance, publishing an innuendo alleging there was an international Jewish conspiracy controlling financial catastrophes and wars worldwide. As a result, his employees were subjected to rigorous inspections and mandatory English classes, while also being encouraged to forgo their cultural practices in favor of "American" ways. As a result, their company became predominantly homogenous with little tolerance or appreciation of differing ideas or perspectives. Ford's current management team takes an entirely different approach to workplace culture than in previous years. In an email sent less than 24 hours after their 2022 earnings report, CEO Jim Farley and his team outlined plans to reduce cost structures as the Blue Oval shifts away from internal combustion vehicles towards electric vehicles, leading by example by taking steps such as cutting bonus payments linked to performance goals as an example for staffers. Executives also noted that Ford was overstaffed in some areas and would seek ways to cut work wherever possible. Furthermore, they're moving toward a simplified business structure which involves three separate lines of vehicles - Ford Blue for traditional internal combustion vehicles, Model e for electric vehicles, and Ford Pro for fleet vehicle products. More auto job cuts may be coming soon, with cuts more likely concentrated among salaried rather than hourly union plant workers. That concerns Glenn Stevens of Michigan Future Inc., a nonprofit think tank dedicated to building Michigan's knowledge economy. Stevens notes that companies must push for higher-wage professional jobs like software developers and electrical engineers so as to remain competitive; otherwise they risk falling further behind and leaving Michigan behind, according to Stevens. As Stevens points out, Michigan should lead in adapting as the auto industry undergoes significant transformation; otherwise Michigan risks falling further behind than its peers - otherwise Michigan will fall further behind in its transformation journey, rather than lead it will get left behind, says Stevens.