Ford AI hiccups push carmaker to rehire ‘gray beard’ inspectors

Ford Motor Co. rehired 350 veteran 'gray beard' engineers to address persistent quality problems and retrain AI tools, leading to the company becoming the top mainstream brand in the latest JD Power Initial Quality Survey.

Transportation Ford AI Hiccups Push Carmaker to Rehire ‘Gray Beard’ Inspectors Ford Motor Co. https://www.bloomberg.com/quote/F:US took an unusually human approach to fixing its stubborn quality problems https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2024-06-20/ford-recalls-delay-launch-of-new-bronco-and-explorer-models : It brought back what it calls “gray beard” engineers to help train younger staff and to reprogram the artificial intelligence tools that weren’t getting the job done. Over the last three years, Ford says it has hired 350 veteran engineers, many of them former employees and others from suppliers, to help address seemingly intractable quality woes that have cost the automaker billions https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2024-07-24/ford-profit-falls-short-on-quality-woes-rising-warranty-costs . The result: Ford is the top mainstream brand in the latest JD Power Initial Quality Survey, released Thursday.