At Ford’s Michigan Assembly near Detroit, more than 4,500 hourly employees train about 100,000 Broncos a year — a new one every 60 seconds.
For obvious reasons, Ford touts its commitment to American manufacturing. It bills itself as employing the largest number of hourly workers in the country – and more than 80 percent of its vehicles sold in the United States are actually made in the United States. That’s the highest share of any Detroit automaker.
But Ford imports many spare parts and has been hit hard by President Trump’s tariffs. Ford CEO Jim Farley says it’s not affordable to make all the parts here and that if Ford only used U.S.-made parts, U.S.-made cars would be too expensive for many Americans to buy.
And there are some components, Farley says, that no one even makes in America: “There are parts, fasteners, wiring harnesses that come from other countries. And we pay our tariffs, sometimes up to 70 percent on those parts. That gives us a $2 billion bill. About 20 percent of our global profits go to tariffs.”
And who pays these prices? “Well, the business right now,” he said. “And at the end of the day, it’s all these workers.”
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Farley has deep roots in Michigan. His grandfather was the 389th employee of Ford Motor Company – one of the first to help build the Model T. But Farley himself is no Ford lifer. Before joining the company in 2007, he spent nearly two decades at Toyota.
And how did it work out in the Farley family when he went to Toyota? “Not good,” Jim laughed. “Because back then, you know, all through the ’70s, there was job loss after job loss in southeast Michigan. And my grandfather was thinking about all the people who lost their jobs. And they were saying, For what? Why are you doing this?“
I asked, “Do you see any similarities between the 1980s, when the U.S. auto industry faced increased competition from Japan, and today, where it’s China?” »
“Oh, I think it’s exactly the same thing, but it’s on steroids,” Farley replied.
“A completely different level of risk for our industry”
Ironically, it is a Biden-era tariff that has so far spared Detroit from this competition. In May last year, the United States imposed 100% surcharge on Chinese-made electric vehicleswhich effectively bans them from the American road. But Chinese electric vehicles are gaining ground in Europe, Latin America and especially in China, the world’s largest market.
Farley called these small, inexpensive, technologically advanced cars an existential threat. “They have enough capacity in China with existing factories to serve the entire North American market, which is putting us all out of business,” he said. “Japan has never had this. So this is a completely different level of risk for our industry.”
“Are Chinese cars made today something Americans would want to buy? I asked.
“Yes,” Farley said. “I drive a Xiaomi SU7. High quality, great digital experience.”
“You drive a Chinese car? Why?”
“Because of the competition. And to beat them, you have to know them.”
Farley’s first-hand experience with Chinese electric vehicles is a key reason Ford is moving toward smaller, more affordable electric vehicles. Last summer, by announcing the production of a new mid-size electric pickup truck to sell for $30,000, Farley said: “This represents the most radical change in the way we design and build vehicles at Ford since the Model T.”
This hands-on approach is a holdover from his years at Toyota. Another example is his annual road trip to see his products in action. “I believe in genchi genbutsu. It’s a Japanese word that means “to go and see where the work is actually being done.” I took a Lightning through California with my son. And it became clear that we had a big problem with our charging network. So after that trip, I called Elon (Musk). Out of the blue, I never met him or anything. I was like, is there a way for you to do this share your charging network with Ford?”
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If you’ve heard his name and noticed the resemblance to the late actor Chris Farley, you weren’t wrong: The “Saturday Night Live” star was Jim Farley’s cousin. “I think there’s, uh, a little bit of a child in all of us Farleys, a little bit of that kind of evil, sarcastic little nonsense,” he said. “On the other hand, I would say I was, you know, more on the pretty serious side of the Farley spectrum!”
Jim Farley will need all his gravitas to guide Ford through one of its biggest economic and political tests in decades — building a future that keeps tens of thousands of American auto workers in play. “What matters to me is this transformation of Ford,” he said. “I wish I could come back here in 20 years, if I’m still alive, and see all the people, that they’re always busy, like my grandfather. My grandfather had nothing until he got the Ford job. Our job as leaders is about them.”
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Story produced by Mark Hudspeth. Editor: Chad Cardin.