YouTube Agrees to Follow Australia’s New Under-16 Social Media Ban 
Apple Alerts EU Regulators That Apple Ads and Maps Meet DMA Gatekeeper Thresholds 
Banks Consider $38 Billion Funding Boost for Oracle, Vantage, and OpenAI Expansion 
Lockheed Martin Secures $1.14 Billion Contract Boost for F-35 Production 
AI-Guided Drones Transform Ukraine’s Battlefield Strategy 
GM Issues Recall for 2026 Chevrolet Silverado Trucks Over Missing Owner Manuals 
Morgan Stanley Boosts Nvidia and Broadcom Targets as AI Demand Surges 
Amazon and Google Launch New Multicloud Networking Service to Boost High-Speed Cloud Connectivity 
Wikipedia Pushes for AI Licensing Deals as Jimmy Wales Calls for Fair Compensation 
Netflix’s $72 Billion Warner Bros Discovery Deal Reshapes the Entertainment Landscape 
Rio Tinto Raises 2025 Copper Output Outlook as Oyu Tolgoi Expansion Accelerates 
Firelight Launches as First XRP Staking Platform on Flare, Introduces DeFi Cover Feature 
EU Prepares Antitrust Probe Into Meta’s AI Integration on WhatsApp 
Waymo Issues Recall After Reports of Self-Driving Cars Illegally Passing School Buses in Texas 
ExxonMobil to Shut Older Singapore Steam Cracker Amid Global Petrochemical Downturn 
Sam Altman Reportedly Explored Funding for Rocket Venture in Potential Challenge to SpaceX 
Microchip Technology Boosts Q3 Outlook on Strong Bookings Momentum 
Ford Motor Company is trimming down its workforce at its Michigan production plant for F-150 Lightning pick-up trucks. The automaker cited slow EV sales as the reason for the move.
Ford Motor will slash two-thirds or about 1,400 workers at its factory that manufactures the F-150 Lightning electric pick-ups. The company’s spokesperson, Jessica Enoch, said the displaced employees will be offered new jobs or retirement packages starting next week.
Implementation of the Latest Job Cuts
The company will start laying off plant workers on Monday next week. Associated Press News reported that Ford Motor kicked off 2024 by reducing the production of its F-150 Lightning trucks due to weaker-than-expected EV sales growth.
It was noted that while electric vehicle sales are generally booming in the United States, the pace of the growth is failing to meet the EV industry’s aggressive timetable. In addition, many people are also starting to like hybrid vehicles and buying them instead.
Reassignment of Staff as Focus Shifts to Gas Vehicles
Ford Motor Company is moving 700 employees to its Michigan Assembly Plant in Wayne, where Ranger and Bronco models are made. The reassignments align with the company’s shift of focus to gas-powered SUVs and trucks.
The remaining 700 staff may opt to take advantage of a retirement package offered by the company last year during its negotiations with the United Auto Workers (UAW). They can also be deployed to southeast Michigan for available job posts. As explained by Enoch, the affected employees who will not retire will not go jobless since they will be reassigned.
“Their intentions were to build 180,000-plus units,” Teslarati quoted Todd Dunn, president of UAW, regarding the job cuts. “Right now, we’re looking at 55,000 units they are gonna build. There are some things out there that are causing this - distance on (battery) charges, a new technology that is being brought about overseas, that technology being implemented over there already in certain design models.”
Photo by: Cyrus Crossan/Unsplash
