We can only hope the board wises up and kills DEI. And the CEO responsible for the Lightning disaster.
I don’t think there’s a direct link from DEI to The EV/Lightning issues.
The latter was based on the economics and political climate at the time and I think that Ford overestimated what consumer tolerance would be for the EV Lightning’s actual performance. And by performance I don’t mean it’s 0-60 time, I mean how it does truck things. Normally, Ford is reticent to implicate the “F series” in anything dumb, or reputation harming. Look how long they take to implement a new F150 generation and the engineering that goes into the Raptor. I think Ford saw what Tesla was doing, saw an open lane and tried to take it. Unfortunately, it didn’t work out. They tried to significantly alter the stealership model as part of their EV model which I think would have worked out well for everyone who does not sell automobiles, but alas, the country does not want an electric vehicle that doesn’t do what a comparable gas fueled vehicle will - not catch fire and be a PITA to extinguish, take it on a long trip and not have to worry about refueling every 200 miles at highway speeds, not have to spend an hour plus refueling because let’s face it: Truck stops were cool when we were kids, but not so much any more. The EV Lightning was brought to market too soon. If it would legitimately go 300 - 320 miles with 500 pounds of cargo plus driver & passenger at 70mph, maybe they would be on to something. But not being able to do those things when the EB F150 can go literally 2x as far between fill ups and then some, kind of puts a damper on things.
DEI ... The idea of diversity and inclusion is good, the implementation drives quotas which as we all know are bad and result in what used to be called “diversity hires”, now they’re “DEI hires”. Equity is diametrically opposed to merit and literally takes the position away from someone qualified, gifting it to someone who is presented as ‘favored’ to “more equitably” represent certain demographics in a field. There’s a very easy solution to DEI initiatives: Clear, concise, thorough and objective requirements and criteria to be eligible for a particular job. Any subjective requirements are subject to interpretation and everyone’s is different. But objective requirements lay it out in black and white for all to see; you either make the cut or you don’t.
I want the surgeon who is most qualified, not the one who is the most equitably included.