Ford rehires ‘gray beard’ engineers after AI falls short
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Ford rehires experienced engineers after AI fails, directly relevant to AI limitations and engineering practices.
Summary
Ford rehired 350 veteran engineers, including former employees and supplier staff, after AI-driven quality systems failed to meet expectations. COO Kumar Galhotra admitted over-reliance on automated quality tools produced disappointing results, so the "gray beard" specialists now hunt for failure points before parts reach the plant floor. The move has lowered warranty and recall costs by hundreds of millions and helped Ford top the JD Power Initial Quality Survey among mainstream brands.