On June 28, 2026, Ford announced the rehiring of 350 veteran engineers, including former employees and supplier staff, to improve product quality. Ford executives, including Chief Operating Officer Kumar Galhotra, stated that the company had been relying heavily on artificial intelligence and automated systems, but the results were disappointing. To address this, Ford brought back technical specialists, known as ‘gray beard’ engineers, to identify potential failure points before parts reach the production floor. According to Charles Poon, Vice President of Vehicle Hardware Engineering, the company had mistakenly assumed that introducing AI and design requirements would be enough to produce high-quality products. However, Ford is not abandoning its AI plans entirely. Instead, the rehired engineers will train younger staff and reprogram AI tools. This approach has already shown positive results, with Ford CEO Jim Farley citing reduced warranty and recall costs, contributing to hundreds of millions of dollars in cost savings. Additionally, Ford recently topped the JD Power Initial Quality Survey among mainstream brands.
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📰 Source: TechCrunch