Ford cut my Dad

On Tuesday I received a call that my dad was about to be escorted off the premises of his job. He didn't do anything wrong, he simply was a victim of Ford Motor Company's attempt to get get back into the competition. I know that things like that happen in the automotive industry, but my father deserved much more than a forced exit and that made me extremely sad.

In the 1970's my father moved from Sandsprings, Oklahoma, his birthplace, and relocated far from family with his new bride in order to work for Ford. Ten or so years ago, my father's division was bought by Visteon and he was sent out to Dearborn. When Visteon was bought back by Ford, he returned to his position and even turned down a very generous buy-out. Unfortunately, Ford did not recognize the previous years he worked for them and with less then two years under belt since he was brought back to Ford, he was cut. He gave up over 35 plus years of service to their company, but because of a small loop hole, he was a casualty of their latest cuts.

Now my dad, who is too young for full retirement, is back on the market in a state where jobs don't come easy. I know that God has His hand on him and will take care of he and my mom, but the whole thing still leaves a bad taste in my mouth. My dad deserved to serve the rest of his career at Ford and to retire at 65. He deserved to have a big "goodbye" party as they send him off to retirement. Not what he got.

That's my two cents.