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Ford in talks to buy Michigan Central Station


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Is buying the old train station a sound financial decision? Im not sure. Is it good for the city and good PR for Ford? I think so. When ford didnt take an official bailout, that was a good PR move. People talked about that for a long time. Resurrecting and using this building to help bring Corktown back to a sense of civilization. I think is great.

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Maybe this is a prelude to Ford going into ALL types of mobility, including rail! Seriously though, they need to expand into all modes of travel, since it seems the good old 4 wheel car and truck biz is on the way toward upheaval! And by all, I mean yes, rail, including monorail (think Disney); full line of trucks including class 8 trucks; marine (at least engine-wise); buses, school and motor coach. I'll let them stay out of bicycles and aircraft.........for now!

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The city certainly cant really afford it but The state might sweeten the pot

City would setup a Brownfield or NEZ zone. They might not make money on the train station, but would make it as the surrounding areas increased in taxable value. Also remember every person that worked there would also pay City of Detroit income tax, though it could be some agreement like when they were going after Amazon that Amazon got the employees income tax back to them for the investment.

Edited by jasonj80
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Is buying the old train station a sound financial decision? Im not sure. Is it good for the city and good PR for Ford? I think so. When ford didnt take an official bailout, that was a good PR move. People talked about that for a long time. Resurrecting and using this building to help bring Corktown back to a sense of civilization. I think is great.

Well the bailout issue happened at a time when GM and Chrysler were toast! It was a very visible national issue. This involves downtown Detroit. I'm in New England-not on my radar screen.

 

Im a stockholder. I'm a frustrated old heavy truck guy who remembers ..."have you driven a Ford, Lately!" Ford is in the lousy position they are in because of poor product replacement timing. And they are going to spend how much to renovate a huge amount of square footage that MUST be an environmental time bomb????- As I've said before-give me just the $$ associated with asbestos abatement.

 

If attracting new talent is dependent on having a "trendy" building to work in, vs. a new structure just up the road, I say that new hire has the wrong passion about his job.

 

Bad use of my stockholder dollars.

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Whute collar workers are very mercenary these days, thanks to a whole host of factors. Attracting and retaining high-quality talent often requires going an extra mile. Is that worse than generations of workers who were very passionate about where they worked but treated like crap by the management which knew they wouldn't leave?

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A coworker hired a millennial last summer for a specific job. After a couple of weeks this guy says I know you hired me to do this task but I really don’t like that task. I like this other task better so I’m just going to do that one. They had to explain to him that it doesn’t work that way.

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A coworker hired a millennial last summer for a specific job. After a couple of weeks this guy says I know you hired me to do this task but I really dont like that task. I like this other task better so Im just going to do that one. They had to explain to him that it doesnt work that way.

I hate my generation
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That attitude is across all generations now, some more than others

but I’ve had baby boomers gen x gen y and gen HGAF all tell me as

a supervisor what they will and won’t do. Had no more problems after

I fired one guy and put him on a 2 hour plane flight home

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Umm, unless your name is Ford, they're not using any of your dollars.

Uh so sorry-poor choice of words. How about........"doing little for the value of my portfolio"?......or ....."doing little to impact the profitability of Ford that will ultimately impact the dividend check I hope to receive"??

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A coworker hired a millennial last summer for a specific job. After a couple of weeks this guy says I know you hired me to do this task but I really don’t like that task. I like this other task better so I’m just going to do that one. They had to explain to him that it doesn’t work that way.

Hah- I would hope they also added, If you don't like that, don't let the door hit you in the ass on your way out". ;) Glad I'm retired!

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Uh so sorry-poor choice of words. How about........"doing little for the value of my portfolio"?......or ....."doing little to impact the profitability of Ford that will ultimately impact the dividend check I hope to receive"??

If you bought Ford stock to increase the value of your portfolio, I have some bad news for you... ;)

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Im a stockholder. I'm a frustrated old heavy truck guy who remembers ..."have you driven a Ford, Lately!" Ford is in the lousy position they are in because of poor product replacement timing. And they are going to spend how much to renovate a huge amount of square footage that MUST be an environmental time bomb????- As I've said before-give me just the $$ associated with asbestos abatement.

 

Nobody has any idea as to the specifics of the deal, if it happens (which is far from certain). From what I read, both sides are now in the midst of "due diligence." If there are environmental concerns, this is the place where they identified and discussed. As for being a stockholder, I've owned Ford stock longer than some people on this forum have been alive. And I think Ford buying the old train station is a good idea.

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White collar workers are very mercenary these days, thanks to a whole host of factors. Attracting and retaining high-quality talent often requires going an extra mile.

 

Luckily there is not a lot of mingling between white and blue collar. If the new hires realized how bad they were getting screwed on health car and retirement compared to the blue collar, they would unionize in a heart beat.

 

A coworker hired a millennial last summer for a specific job. After a couple of weeks this guy says I know you hired me to do this task but I really don’t like that task. I like this other task better so I’m just going to do that one. They had to explain to him that it doesn’t work that way.

Those statements apply more to the younger generation of white collar workers. Ford is just finishing YET ANOTHER round of early retirements. They have never been good at "knowledge transfer" so sometimes I wonder about how they still can get cars "out the door".

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If attracting new talent is dependent on having a "trendy" building to work in, vs. a new structure just up the road, I say that new hire has the wrong passion about his job.

 

Bad use of my stockholder dollars.

 

I understand your point, but if you're Ford, you have to look at it this way - you and company B offer the same position. The only difference is, company B has a nicer office complex that potential employees want, and you have the same office that's been around for 50 years unchanged. Assuming everything else is equal, and the prospective employee has no loyalty to either company, which do you expect them to choose?

 

Sometimes you have to invest in certain things to attract the new talent over your competition.

Edited by rmc523
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