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re: Mechanic Shortage? WSJ Shreds Ford CEO Complaints
Posted on 1/8/26 at 12:44 pm to DownshiftAndFloorIt
Posted on 1/8/26 at 12:44 pm to DownshiftAndFloorIt
quote:
Supplying tools to mechanics is a massive expense and when they don't own them, they destroy them, lose them, steal them. It's not a problem if you only hire the people who don't do that kind of stuff, but that's not realistic unless you're going to pay the average shop mechanic an exorbitant wage so that you can hire and fire them at will with a line of guys trying to get in.
This is funny when every major brand dealership owner in the southeast is funneling hundreds of thousands a year into their favorite school's NIL collective. Matt Bowers is literally bragging to CBS sports about how much he's paying to retain Ole Miss's roster.
"It's exorbitantly expensive to provide our techs with tools" hits a little different when said techs have to pass by a billboard that Matt paid Trinidad Chambliss 3 million dollars to appear on.
This post was edited on 1/8/26 at 12:50 pm
2
Posted on 1/8/26 at 1:19 pm to JohnnyKilroy
Well, why do you think top people aren't banging on the door dying to be dealership shop mechanics? It's not the tools.
As I said earlier, there's been a paradigm shift in the past 15 years as it relates to skilled labor and it is effecting every industry. Are you (as the end user of the vehicle) willing to pay even higher labor rates than you already are to get really good mechanics who have tools supplied by their company? Probably not. The majority of people are going to get their car worked on by the cheapest person they feel can do the work.
When you look at things like really good staff millwrights at chemical plants (basically a very highly skilled mechanic), they are making far more money, having their tools and uniforms supplied by the company, benefits, etc. You aren't getting that guy to work at a ford dealership, because nobody is going to pay the money required to keep that guy there. Ford sets the labor rates for warranty work. Non-warranty work is largely going to be for private customers who aren't going to pay 5x more than the guy down the street charges.
Matt Bowers, who clearly must be doing well, surely does not see the need to impact his bottom line in any significant way to get better mechanics.
As I said earlier, there's been a paradigm shift in the past 15 years as it relates to skilled labor and it is effecting every industry. Are you (as the end user of the vehicle) willing to pay even higher labor rates than you already are to get really good mechanics who have tools supplied by their company? Probably not. The majority of people are going to get their car worked on by the cheapest person they feel can do the work.
When you look at things like really good staff millwrights at chemical plants (basically a very highly skilled mechanic), they are making far more money, having their tools and uniforms supplied by the company, benefits, etc. You aren't getting that guy to work at a ford dealership, because nobody is going to pay the money required to keep that guy there. Ford sets the labor rates for warranty work. Non-warranty work is largely going to be for private customers who aren't going to pay 5x more than the guy down the street charges.
Matt Bowers, who clearly must be doing well, surely does not see the need to impact his bottom line in any significant way to get better mechanics.
This post was edited on 1/8/26 at 1:22 pm
Posted on 1/8/26 at 1:28 pm to DownshiftAndFloorIt
quote:
No automotive repair facility can actually do that.
It probably could be done in Japan, Germany, and places where there is a distinct work ethic and strong sense of personal accountability. I dealt with a crew of German equipment installers who absolutely could be trusted to with company-provided tools. We had tool carts setup for them to install the machinery needed for a contract, ATK provided the tools themselves, the workers absolutely checked and double-checked to make sure every tool was placed back clean. Something the regular line workers at the plant could not be trusted to do in any way, shape, or form.
Posted on 1/8/26 at 1:31 pm to DownshiftAndFloorIt
I'm not disagreeing with anything you're saying.
It's just funny when businesses (Ford, dealerships, etc) cry about not being able to fill positions while being so profitable that they can funnel 6 or 7 figures a year to make sure the star running back stays at their favorite school.
Similar to when large companies complain about not being able to hire/retain talent, while simultaneously raking in so much cash they can't come up with anything better to do with it than buying their own stock back.
It's just funny when businesses (Ford, dealerships, etc) cry about not being able to fill positions while being so profitable that they can funnel 6 or 7 figures a year to make sure the star running back stays at their favorite school.
Similar to when large companies complain about not being able to hire/retain talent, while simultaneously raking in so much cash they can't come up with anything better to do with it than buying their own stock back.
Posted on 1/8/26 at 1:34 pm to JohnnyKilroy
quote:
This is funny when every major brand dealership owner in the southeast is funneling hundreds of thousands a year into their favorite school's NIL collective. Matt Bowers is literally bragging to CBS sports about how much he's paying to retain Ole Miss's roster.
"It's exorbitantly expensive to provide our techs with tools" hits a little different when said techs have to pass by a billboard that Matt paid Trinidad Chambliss 3 million dollars to appear on.
I guarantee you Matt gets a better return on his NIL contributions than he would on paying for the mechanic's tools. Because if he didn't, he wouldn't do either. The current scenario exists for a reason. Likely the one Downshift referenced above. He gets more return throwing money at Ole Miss players than he does providing Jim with an impact wrench. And its probably cost prohibitive to provide tools for all the mechanics in the bays. He aint paying for just one set of tools, you know?
Posted on 1/8/26 at 1:35 pm to prplhze2000
Getting royally fuqed on warranty pay was a main driver of me quitting. If the companies want mechanics then don't screw them all the friggin time!
Posted on 1/8/26 at 1:35 pm to JohnnyKilroy
quote:
just funny when businesses (Ford, dealerships, etc) cry about not being able to fill positions while being so profitable that they can funnel 6 or 7 figures a year to make sure the star running back stays at their favorite school.
Yea and that's the publicly visible money-flinging.
quote:
Similar to when large companies complain about not being able to hire/retain talent, while simultaneously raking in so much cash they can't come up with anything better to do with it than buying their own stock back.
Yet we still show up to work.
Posted on 1/8/26 at 1:36 pm to prplhze2000
Getting royally screwed on warranty pay was a main driver of me quitting. If the companies want mechanics then don't screw them all the damn time!
Posted on 1/8/26 at 1:38 pm to bamacoullion
They screw customers all the time, why should the mechanics be any different?
j/k
but seriously.
j/k
but seriously.
Posted on 1/8/26 at 1:40 pm to slidingstop
quote:
I guarantee you Matt gets a better return on his NIL contributions than he would on paying for the mechanic's tools.
Sure. I don't disagree with that. And maybe I shouldn't have thrown out Bowers.
If Farley and Ford want/need more techs, they need to either increase pay/rates for warranty work, or remove barriers to entry (Like techs needing to provide their own tools to service the dealership's customers). If they aren't willing to do either of those things, they shouldn't cry about needing 5,000 more techs.
Posted on 1/8/26 at 1:41 pm to Clames
quote:
dealt with a crew of German equipment installers who absolutely could be trusted to with company-provided tools
Right - traveling professionals installing industrial equipment. Those guys were very well paid relative to a shop bay mechanic anywhere in the world. That's a different class of guy, and we have scores of them here in America. Go check out a team of Elliot Compressor commissioning engineers. In reality, those guys are just really good mechanics who understand that they make what they make because they aren't going through life tearing up shite.
Same with the South Koreans. Check out a team of Hyundai engineers installing a very large HV electric motor. You could use their tools as silverware at the end of the day, have them polish a crankshaft for you, install a bearing, or sit in a resource allocation meeting and make meaningful contributions. Those guys are out there, you just have to pay A LOT more than any automotive tech job will pay anywhere in the world.
Posted on 1/8/26 at 1:44 pm to JohnnyKilroy
quote:
If Farley and Ford want/need more techs, they need to either increase pay/rates for warranty work, or remove barriers to entry (Like techs needing to provide their own tools to service the dealership's customers). If they aren't willing to do either of those things, they shouldn't cry about needing 5,000 more techs.
I think the point you’re trying to make is if there was a fundamental disruption in the labor market, that would be one thing and something to talk about. But there’s not. Ford is raking in billions and Farley himself is making 10s of millions himself every year. They’re choosing to let these jobs go infilled to maximize profits of the company and make money for shareholders. And frankly it’s pretty fricked up.
Posted on 1/8/26 at 1:47 pm to Mingo Was His NameO
quote:
And frankly it’s pretty fricked up.
The bottom line / share price doesn't agree with you, therefor it will not change.
Posted on 1/8/26 at 1:48 pm to DownshiftAndFloorIt
quote:
The bottom line / share price doesn't agree with you, therefor it will not change.
My post went right over your head
Posted on 1/8/26 at 1:49 pm to DownshiftAndFloorIt
quote:
meth head 18 year old retard who can't start a lawn mower to 60 year old machine whisperer who could build a working turbine out of legos
Posted on 1/8/26 at 1:57 pm to Mingo Was His NameO
Well, I am just a dumb mechanic.
Posted on 1/8/26 at 2:04 pm to Joshjrn
quote:
Requiring entry level employees to supply their own expensive, specialized equipment is certainly
But then they wouldn't be able to complain about it on TV, newspapers, or the internet instead of actually solving the problem.
Posted on 1/8/26 at 2:07 pm to JohnnyKilroy
quote:
It's just funny when businesses (Ford, dealerships, etc) cry about not being able to fill positions while being so profitable that they can funnel 6 or 7 figures a year to make sure the star running back stays at their favorite school. Similar to when large companies complain about not being able to hire/retain talent, while simultaneously raking in so much cash they can't come up with anything better to do with it than buying their own stock back.
I worked for a billionaire who got into car dealerships while I was at another business
I liked him. Dude is the man. Everyone directly under him treated Pennies like manhole covers. A lot of nepotism so as long as profitability was good their Thanksgiving wasn’t awkward
Was very annoying seeing him spend a million on his daughters wedding while I was having eat someone else’s frick ups out of my commission because no one had the balls to go up stairs to explain the situation
Even worse when it was my frick up cause they would hangover my head like I was French aristocrat in the 1800s
Posted on 1/8/26 at 4:01 pm to Trevaylin
quote:
consumer rightly or wrongly". The whole service check in business is designed to screw the customer. Got a check engine light? Your Manuel sez take it to a dealer immediately before the engine falls out, then the service dude charges 500 bucks to plug in a hand held computer to tell you the alignment needs checking. Why not just put that hand held info in to the car information data base and tell the consumer directly to take it to a wheel alignment place that is competitive. Its the same business model as movie theaters You buy the car/ticket, then
get screwed on the 15 dollar popcorn
I won’t even call this hyperbole. This is nonsense.
Posted on 1/8/26 at 4:47 pm to JohnnyKilroy
quote:
If Farley and Ford want/need more techs, they need to either increase pay/rates for warranty work, or remove barriers to entry (Like techs needing to provide their own tools to service the dealership's customers). If they aren't willing to do either of those things, they shouldn't cry about needing 5,000 more techs.
This is the crux of the situation. The whole argument about tool ownership isn't really relevant.
The core issue is: Ford is not compensating people enough to put up with working in their bays. If they buck the norm and started providing their mechanics a base tool package then it might entice new mechanics to put up with working at Ford. Might not.
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