This auto manufacturer is suffering from a shortage of mechanics. Here’s why that matters!

From the desk of Miles Everson:

Hello!

I’m thrilled to talk about another insight in the world of business for today’s  “Return Driven Strategy (RDS)”  article.

For those of you who are not yet familiar with it, RDS is a pyramid-shaped framework with 11 tenets and 3 foundations. When applied properly, these principles help businesses attain high levels of performance.

Today, we’re going to tackle the importance of talent and how lack of it could negatively impact a business.

Continue reading below!

This auto manufacturer is suffering from a shortage of mechanics. Here’s why that matters!

The  Ford Motor Company  is one of America’s biggest automotive companies, owning around 13% of the U.S. market as of 2024. 

Last year, Ford sold roughly 2.2 million cars, representing a 6% increase in sales—the company’s best since 2019.

Aside from being one of the biggest automotive firms in the U.S., Ford currently ranks among the top automotive manufacturers across the globe, trailing the likes of  Stellantis,  General Motors,  Hyundai,  Volkswagen, and  Toyota.

Due to its status as a global player, Ford employs over 170,000 employees globally.

However, despite having a 170,000-strong workforce, the company currently has an ongoing talent problem.

Ford CEO Jim Farley, speaking on a podcast in November 2025, said the company’s dealerships currently has 5,000 open jobs, including openings for auto technicians who play a crucial role after sales service for Ford vehicles.

Before we take a deep dive on this issue, we need to understand why talent shortages can be a big problem for companies.

The Importance of Talent

In the book,  “Driven,”   Professor Joel Litman  and  Dr. Mark L. Frigo  highlighted the importance of employees.

According to them,  “companies succeed when employees and other individuals are aligned with the organization’s goals in creating and delivering the offerings that fulfill customers’ unmet needs.”

In Ford’s case, the mechanic shortage is detrimental for both its brand and customers.

Dealerships wouldn’t be able to handle high-margin maintenance work such as engine repairs or other specialized repairs without highly-skilled mechanics.

For example, transmission repairs, depending on complexity, could take as little as a few hours to days to complete. With a skilled mechanic, this might take less time.

Unfortunately, there’s not a lot of skilled mechanics around. Not only is this kind of work physically demanding but it also takes years and lots of money to get the training and experience needed to be a full-fledged mechanic. As a result, many mechanics switch careers long before they get the certification and experience needed to command higher pay, further exacerbating the shortage.

This brings us to customer satisfaction.

If there aren’t enough mechanics around, dealerships would have a hard time fulfilling repair requests or would take a long time to fulfill them.

Worse, some of them might even be forced to turn potential customers away due to lack of skilled manpower.

The result of these cascading problems? Unhappy customers.

Uh-oh.

… and in turn, unsatisfied customers lead to lower retention rates and repeat purchases. In some cases, they might even leave negative feedback to other would-be buyers, which is damaging to brand image.

Enticing Prospective Employees

Ford is aware of the issue it’s facing. That’s why it has taken a strategic step to boost its recruitment offers. 

Last week, the automaker announced a partnership with  Carhartt, a 137-year-old workwear brand that would lead to the creation of a multi-year training assistance program for blue-collar workers.

The partnership seeks to entice and train workers to get into blue collar work. This program includes lending 25,000 tools annually to workers and volunteers.

This initiative is best explained through the lens of RDS.

Professor Litman and Dr. Frigo noted that  “high-performance firms treat their employees like customers, understanding exactly what services they would like to receive from employees, and designing incentive systems that fulfill employees’ needs in order to get those services.”

In the case of Ford, its initiative with Carhartt is meant to attract potential talent that would help fill the company’s talent void.

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As discussed above, talent (or the lack thereof) could make or break a company’s ability to meet the needs of its customers.

That’s why it’s important for leaders to understand just how important employees are.

After all, without them, a company cannot fulfill unmet needs—and firms that are unable to do so are bound to perform poorly.

If you’re looking to gain a better understanding of Return Driven Strategy and Career Driven Strategy, we highly recommend checking out  “Driven”  by Professor Litman and Dr. Frigo.

Click  here  to get your copy and learn how this framework can help you in your business strategies and ultimately, in ethically maximizing wealth for your firm.

Hope you found this week’s insights interesting and helpful.

Stay tuned for next Tuesday’s Return Driven Strategy!

Imagine living in a world where the impossible is just an invitation to try harder.

Learn more about  Elon Musk through the lens of Career Driven Strategy (CDS)  in next week’s article!