Ford hired AI and sacked humans. It backfired badly
Ford increased its reliance on AI-driven inspection systems, which led to costly quality control failures. The automaker then rehired over 350 veteran engineers to conduct quality reviews and train the AI, resulting in improved standards. Ford now plans to combine AI with human oversight while still facing recall challenges with older models.
- ▪Ford’s AI automation caused quality problems that cost the company billions of dollars, according to Bloomberg.
- ▪The company hired more than 350 experienced engineers, referred to internally as “gray beards,” to lead quality reviews and help train the AI systems.
- ▪After the rehiring, Ford topped the J.D. Power Initial Quality Survey for mainstream brands for the first time in 16 years.
- ▪Despite recent gains, Ford remains the most recalled automaker in the United States, attributing past issues to automation rather than the recent human hires.
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TechFord hired AI and sacked humans. It backfired badly‘We didn’t pay as much attention as we should have to the experience of our most knowledgeable engineers,’ says automakerAnthony Cuthbertson Friday 26 June 2026 17:23 EDTBookmarkCommentsGo to commentsBookmark popoverRemoved from bookmarksClose popover{"translations":{"comments":"Go to comments","share":"Share","copyLink":"Copy link","bookmark":"Bookmark","removeBookmark":"Remove bookmark"},"showComments":true,"showBookmark":true,"articleId":"b3003787","articleMeta":{"url":"https://www.the-independent.com/tech/ford-ai-automation-human-workers-b3003787.html","title":"Ford hired AI and sacked humans.
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