Ford Stock (NYSE:F) Tanks as RTO Mandate Backfires—Here’s Why Traders Are Fleeing
Ford’s return-to-office policy just became a return-to-losses scenario for shareholders.
The automaker’s stock nosedived as rigid RTO rules collided with a workforce allergic to 2019-era policies. Meanwhile, crypto-native firms keep poaching top talent with remote-first flexibility—and their valuations aren’t stuck in reverse gear.
Wall Street’s verdict? Legacy corporations enforcing archaic office mandates might as well hang ‘We’re Short on Innovation’ signs in their lobbies. Adapt or watch your ticker turn into a tombstone.
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Ford employees had already been back to the office in some degree, as most were back at least three days a week for some time now. Indeed, they probably enjoyed the flexibility of being able to schedule repairs or the like during the days they could work from home.
But Ford, in a bid to “…accelerate Ford’s transformation into a higher growth, higher margin, less cyclical and more dynamic company,” is now calling everyone back for at least four days a week. Because that one extra day apparently makes all the difference between growth and stagnation. Either way, though, Ford staff will find out after summer concludes, as the new policy kicks in September 1. But Ford has already been seen trying to bolster its staff one way or another, with new bonus policies, new employee performance evaluations, and more.
The Battery Plant Stays
Meanwhile, Ford is drawing a line in the sand, or perhaps more like the sand-covered topsoil, in Marshall, as a planned battery plant will go in regardless of what government incentives Ford gets out of the deal, reports note. The $3 billion plant was set to go in, thanks in part to some government incentives. But those incentives became a little less clearly in Ford’s pocket thanks to the new budget going around.
Lisa Drake, vice president for technology platform programs and electric vehicles at Ford, noted “We don’t want to back off on this facility. When we invest, we stick behind our investments. Ford is a company that will weather the storm until we get there.” The United Auto Workers (UAW) likewise issued a statement of support for the beleaguered battery plant, noting that shutting down the plant WOULD ultimately hurt manufacturing workers.
Is Ford Stock a Good Buy Right Now?
Turning to Wall Street, analysts have a Hold consensus rating on F stock based on two Buys, 12 Holds and three Sells assigned in the past three months, as indicated by the graphic below. After a 11.4% loss in its share price over the past year, the average F price target of $9.71 per share implies 7.66% downside risk.
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