Ford and GM Addressed Employees About George Floyd's Death

On a letter addressed to all employees, both Ford and GM's top executives talked about the "tragic killing" of George Floyd. The death of the 46-year-old black man in Minneapolis, Minnesota has led to several protests and riots across the US.

Ford

Ford's Chairman and Henry Ford's great-grandson, Bill Ford, along with current CEO Jim Hackett affirmed on the letter that "this (the COVID-19 pandemic) is an extraordinary moment in our history." Both executives also bear in mind the effects of the "public health crisis" and the "economic shock" that came afterwards. "In the midst of this, the tragic killing of George Floyd, compounded by other senseless killings over the years, has sparked the expression of decades of collective anger and frustration over the unacceptable abuse of power and authority. This pain is felt across the communities our employees call home," the letter states.

"There are no easy answers. We are not interested in superficial actions. This is our moment to lead from the front and fully commit to creating the fair, just and inclusive culture that our employees deserve," said Ford and Hackett. They reassured their employees the steps Ford has taken to promote leadership based on diversity and inclusion alongside UAW, while acknowledging "there is much more we can do together." 

One of the steps Ford will take is to further dialogue among black communities within the company. "We will be meeting with employees across the company, including the Ford African Ancestry Network (FAAN). We also plan to ask leaders throughout the company to hold dialogs with their teams to understand how people are feeling and discuss how we can get better together." 

Both executives recognize that "system racism still exists,” while affirming that "we cannot turn a blind eye to it or accept some sense of ‘order’ that is based on oppression."

You can read the full letter here.

GM

GM's CEO Mary Barra, on her letter to GM's employees, recognized the impact that several black American deaths have had. "The recent deaths of George Floyd, Ahmaud Arbery and Breonna Taylor astonishingly add to the important and unconscionable list of black Americans who have lost their lives based on the color of their skin," the letter says.

Barra acknowledges the role of GM as a large global company in addressing these issues. "As one of the largest global companies, there is much we can do. There comes a time when we are compelled to stop diagnosing what is wrong and start advocating for what is right." She also enlists three actions to advocate: committing to inclusion, condemning intolerance and standing up against injustice.

GM's CEO will take immediate action since "putting this in writing is not enough." According to Barra, an Inclusion Advisory Board (IAB) chaired by her and formed by both internal and external leaders will be commissioned. The purpose of the board will be to consult with SLT "the longer-term goal of inspiring us to be the most inclusive company in the world."  

“Collectively, and in time, we will be part of the change. For now, my personal commitment is to ensure that the leadership of GM and by extension the entire GM family, consistently remains aware of our responsibility to bring awareness to injustice. Because awareness leads to dialogue… dialogue leads to understanding… and understanding leads to change,” the letter ends. 

You can read the full letter here.

Protesters and public figures, from the business to the entertainment sphere, have used the #BlackLivesMatter hashtag to speak about the death of George Floyd. The #BlackLivesMatter movement was founded in 2013 "to intervene in violence inflicted on black communities" as the organization states on its site.