So apparently, legacy automaker Ford (F) took a look at all the problems it is currently facing, from a supplier that suffered a major fire to tariff problems and economic concerns from potential buyers, and decided the way to fix this was to get more people in the office. That could be an oversimplification, but Ford is reportedly doubling down on this plan, threatening workers with firing if they are not in more. And investors were not pleased, sending shares sliding over 1.5% in Wednesday afternoon’s trading.
Elevate Your Investing Strategy:
- Take advantage of TipRanks Premium at 50% off! Unlock powerful investing tools, advanced data, and expert analyst insights to help you invest with confidence.
In fact, Ford is warning workers that, if they fail to show up in the office more, they could face outright firing. Ford’s return-to-office mandate featured the requirement that workers be in the office at least four days a week. The problem, though, is that some workers are reporting that they are hearing the threats despite not only complying with updated attendance policies, but also having work-from-home arrangements that were approved by management.
Yet even Ford admitted that not everyone who had been warned should have been warned, acknowledging there were some “bumps” in the warning-email system. Human resources director Homer Isaac noted: “The letters up to this point, quite honestly, were based on a window where our standard wasn’t the same as everybody else’s standard. The communications are standard, and I will pledge to this team, we have asked for those to be changed or modified — we have failed in that.”
The GT40 and Ford’s Supercar Roots
Another story recently emerged that detailed how one car in particular, the GT40, came to define Ford’s stance not only on supercars, but also on the “no boring cars” credo that much of Ford runs under today. Ford originally built the GT40 as a way to win at Le Mans at all costs, and avenge a humiliation it took under Enzo Ferrari, who refused to sell his car company to Ford in 1963, reports noted.
It took Ford a few years to go from humiliated potential buyer to world-beating juggernaut, and it did not happen right away. But by the middle of the decade, reports note, Ford not only took Le Mans by storm, but ended up creating two versions for wider use.
Is Ford Stock a Good Buy Right Now?
Turning to Wall Street, analysts have a Hold consensus rating on F stock based on two Buys, nine Holds and two Sells assigned in the past three months, as indicated by the graphic below. After a 12.24% rally in its share price over the past year, the average F price target of $11.18 per share implies 4.89% downside risk.
