Legal Liabilities Amass at Ford, While They Layoff Around 3,000 Workers
Posted on 08/22/2022
The Ford Motor Company is laying off around 3,000 people, mostly in the U.S. and Canada.
In addition, Ford plans to appeal a US$ 1.7 billion verdict in Gwinnett County against the automaker after a pickup truck (2002 Ford F-250) crash that claimed the lives of a Georgia couple. Melvin and Voncile Hill were killed in April 2014 in the rollover wreck of their 2002 Ford F-250. The plaintiffs’ counsel argued about the dangers of the defective pickup truck roofs from that model. This is the largest ever civil verdict to have been awarded in the state of Georgia.
Higher Cost EVs Due to Battery Materials and Supply Chains
Like other U.S. carmakers, Ford is pivoting toward electric vehicles. Ford moved to hike the starting prices of its electric Mustang Mach-E crossover by more than US$ 8,000 for some models, as it reopens order banks for the 2023 model year. Ford is marking up the costs due to the raw material costs for batteries such as lithium, cobalt, and nickel. The starting prices for the 2023 Mustang Mach-E will range from about US$ 47,000 to US$ 70,000, up from approximately US$ 44,000 to US$ 62,000 for the 2022 model year. Ford also boosted the starting prices of its electric F-150 Lightning pickup by between US$ 6,000 and US$ 8,500.
