Trade News

CHICAGO — It's not the "great resignation."

The challenges in the U.S. labor market today can be better understood as the "great reassessment," said Adam Robinson, CEO of Hireology, a recruitment technology company that works with auto dealerships.

There is a broad rethinking happening about "what it means to have an employment relationship," Robinson said Wednesday during Hireology's Elevate conference here.

The notion of work-life balance is evolving into a consideration of how work can fit in and around life. And labor supply challenges were present even before the pandemic brought sweeping changes to the way Americans work, he said.

"If you're sitting here thinking that this is going to get better, I don't believe it's going to get better," Robinson said during a keynote address.

Yet, he added, the challenge of recruiting and hiring qualified employees is not insurmountable. It will be critical for employ…

DETROIT — General Motors and Ford Motor Co. say they expect to clear backlogs of unfinished vehicles before the end of the year, a positive sign for their balance sheets going into 2023 after battling prolonged supply snags.

GM said it shipped out three-quarters of its 95,000 vehicles awaiting microchips and other scarce parts in the third quarter. Ford was further behind on that front, with the number of vehicles in limbo more than doubling during the quarter to 40,000.

The financial results both companies reported last week show the importance of being able to get those vehicles to dealerships and into customers' hands. GM's net income rose 37 percent from a year earlier to $3.3 billion, and its revenue surged to a third- quarter record, partly as a result of those shipments.

Meanwhile, Ford's earnings were were hampered by its increased backlog, as well as a planned wind down of its self-driving partner, Argo AI. A $2.7 billion nonca…

U.S. dealerships are enjoying drastically lower turnover rates as their employees' pay has soared, but industry experts warn the trend won't stick around when inventory levels normalize enough to make the job of selling vehicles harder and less lucrative.

2021 was a fruitful year for U.S. dealership employees, as their average earnings pushed past the $100,000 mark for the first time. The jump was led by increases for employees involved in vehicle sales, where high demand resulted in pricing power and a seller's market for dealerships. NADA said average weekly earnings at dealerships participating in its annual Dealership Workforce Study increased 27 percent in 2021. With these gains, average dealership turnover fell to 34 percent — the lowest turnover rate ever recorded in the 11 years NADA has conducted the study — from 46 percent in 2020.

But those improvements have been mainly driven by the ease of selling in the low-inventory market of t…

About four years ago, leaders at CMA's Valley dealerships in Staunton, Va., started asking employees about their personal and professional goals in an effort to get to know them better.

This simple but sincere effort is a central part of Carter Myers Automotive's mentorship program, known as "ImproveU," a voluntary, six-month initiative available to any of the roughly 200 employees at the five Valley rooftops.

The stores, which retail Honda, Nissan, Volkswagen and other brands, sold 2,927 new and 2,675 used vehicles in 2021.

The program was established to curb turnover and boost morale, but it's evolved into an endeavor that has changed the lives of its participants — both at work and at home.

"Before we started the program, we were constantly looking to hire people," said Scott Simons, president of CMA's Valley dealerships.

Now, employee retention has improved, and there's even a waitlist of people who want to work at the stores, he said…

General Motors donated a Chevrolet Bolt to serve as the official diplomatic vehicle of Ukraine's U.S. embassy.

Omar Vargas, GM's head of global public policy, delivered the electric vehicle to Oksana Markarova, Ukraine's ambassador to the U.S., in Washington last week. GM also provided a Level 2 charger.

"Today, our Embassy in Washington D.C. is proud to become the first Ukrainian diplomatic institution overseas that has a fully electric Chevrolet Bolt EV in its fleet, thanks to the generous donation of General Motors," Markarova said in a statement provided by GM.

The Bolt is GM's latest gift to the government of Ukraine since the country was invaded by Russia. The automaker sent 50 Chevy Tahoes to the Ministry of Infrastructure and gave $250,000 to the International Rescue Committee for humanitarian aid in the region. It also matched donations made by U.S. employees toward the war effort and provided support to Welcome.US, a refugee assistance organi…

Ellen Villafuerte has joined Automotive News as a copy editor.

Villafuerte, 29, previously worked at ALM as a copy editor for the Daily Business Review, which covers daily legal and real estate news. She also copy edited stories for Texas Lawyer, a leading source for legal news in Texas. Before that, she was a freelance copy editor and web producer at the Miami Herald.Villafuerte earned a bachelor's degree in journalism from the University of Florida.

Stellantis has activated retired New York Yankees shortstop Derek Jeter for a campaign promoting Jeep's new Grand Wagoneer SUV, with the leadoff spot debuting during Friday night's World Series Game 1 between the Philadelphia Phillies and Houston Astros.

The multiyear campaign, dubbed "Eyes Wide Open," will begin with a one-minute commercial featuring images of Jeter, his wife, Hannah, and child actors playing their three daughters. It was shot in various settings in and around New York using a 2023 Jeep Grand Wagoneer L, an extended-wheelbase version of the large SUV — and the most expensive production Jeep ever.

Jeter — a first-ballot Baseball Hall of Fame inductee and 14-time All-Star with five World Series championships during his 20-year career with the Yankees — is an experienced pitchman who has appeared in a number of advertising campaigns during and after his career, including for Stellantis rival Ford Motor Co.

Stellantis marketing chief Olivie…

General Motors said late Friday it had temporarily halted paid advertising on Twitter after Elon Musk completed his takeover of the social media company.

The largest U.S. automaker said it was "engaging with Twitter to understand the direction of the platform under their new ownership. As is normal course of business with a significant change in a media platform, we have temporarily paused our paid advertising."

Musk is also chief executive of GM rival Tesla.

GM said its "customer care interactions on Twitter will continue."

Argo AI Inc. will lay off 173 employees in Michigan after its main backers Ford Motor Co. and Volkswagen decided to pull the plug on the autonomous vehicle technology startup.

The Pittsburgh-based company will make the job cuts in waves starting Tuesday, according to a notice to the state. Operations will cease by the end of the year.

An unspecified number of employees "may be offered employment with a new company," the WARN notice said.

Ford CEO Jim Farley said Wednesday during a call with investors that the automaker plans to hire "a couple hundred" employees from Argo AI. VW said previously it working with Argo AI to find opportunities for its employees.

Ford declined to provide more information Friday.

Employees expected to be transferred to a different company will have the option to remain on Argo's payroll until Dec. 31, the notice said. Another group will also assist in winding down operations.

"Many of the employees will r…