The Workforce AI Index · Consumer Cyclical
Ford (F)
An automaker read by description. Read October 1, 2026 from the annual report for the period ending 2025-12-31, filed 2026-02-11. Ranked 26 of the 39 Consumer Cyclical companies read so far, by the share within reach now: the sector.
The filing states one worldwide total and the union-represented U.S. hourly count, so the manufacturing pattern follows the description and the finance arm takes a small share, as with General Motors but without that filing's stated parts.
The figures on this page come from the company's own annual report and from BLS staffing patterns for its industries, never from a roster. They are estimates with a stated method. Nothing here says what the company will do: within reach is not a forecast of jobs lost or of savings.
What follows from the reading
Share of working time within reach of AI, on the long-run pace at four in five: 15% now, 23% at the end of 2027, 26% at the end of 2028, 28% at the end of 2030. By the patterns, the work is about 28% desk work, 20% people work and 52% body work. These are the site's industry estimates weighted by the shares below: estimates with a stated method and range, not a forecast of what the company will do. By the same patterns, at the end of 2028 about 73% of the working time stays with people (conversation, in-person and hands-on work), 22% becomes checking a model's work and 4% could be handed over with lighter checks, from the industries' own figures, not the company's roles.
Headcount
169,000 employees as of 2025-12-31 (stated). The filing does not state a U.S. total; it states that approximately 56,300 hourly employees in the United States were represented by the UAW at December 31, 2025.
The filing: “With about 169,000 employees worldwide, the Company is committed to helping build a better world, where every person is free to move and pursue their dreams.”
The workforce as industry patterns
| Pattern | Share | Reason, from the filing |
|---|---|---|
| Motor Vehicle Manufacturing | 93% | By (c): the filing states the worldwide total and the UAW-represented U.S. hourly count but no split by kind of work, and describes an automaker's design, engineering, manufacturing and sales businesses, so nearly all of the workforce is read into the motor vehicle manufacturing pattern, with salaried engineering and administrative staff inside it as BLS counts them. |
| Nondepository Credit Intermediation | 7% | By (c): Ford Credit is reported as a segment that finances vehicles for customers and dealers, with no headcount stated, so a small share is read into the nondepository credit pattern by description. |
What the filing says about the workforce: About 169,000 employees worldwide; approximately 56,300 U.S. hourly employees represented by the UAW, about a third of the total; an Executive People Forum of the CEO and top leaders meets monthly on people topics.
Companies read with the same leading pattern
Other companies whose largest staffing pattern is also Motor Vehicle Manufacturing, largest first, each read from its own annual report. Within reach now and at the end of 2028, long-run pace, four in five.
- General Motors (GM, 156,000 employees)15% now, 26% by 2028
- Tesla (TSLA, 134,785 employees)14% now, 25% by 2028
What the filing says about AI
6 sentences in the filing name AI. AI appears in the risk factors, as data privacy and artificial intelligence laws that have caused and may cause substantial costs and that could affect Ford and Ford Credit; the human capital section does not mention it.
- “The EU has established vehicle safety standards and regulations and is likely to adopt additional or more stringent requirements in the future, especially in the areas of access to in-vehicle data, artificial intelligence, and autonomous vehicle technologies.”
- “Shifting public policy regarding data privacy and the effects of artificial intelligence has caused and may in the future cause us to incur substantial costs to modify our operations or business practices, reduce consumers' willingness to engage with our offerings, or cause delays or lapses in the availability of our products or services in various jurisdictions.”
- “Ford and Ford Credit could be affected by the continued development of more stringent privacy, data use, data protection, data access, and artificial intelligence laws and regulations as well as consumers' heightened expectations to safeguard their personal information.”
- “Moreover, regulatory actions seeking to impose significant financial penalties for noncompliance and/or legal actions (including pursuant to laws providing for private rights of action by consumers) could be brought against us in the event of a data compromise, misuse of consumer information, or perceived or actual non-compliance with data protection, data access, privacy, or artificial intelli...”
- “The rapid evolution and increased adoption of artificial intelligence technologies may intensify these risks.”
Headcount by filing year
As reported in each year's annual report, with the filing. A year marked not read had no figure the reading could take from the report's text.
| Period | Employees | Filed | Filing |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025-12-31 | 169,000 | 2026-02-11 | 10-K |
| 2024-12-31 | 171,000 | 2025-02-06 | 10-K |
| 2023-12-31 | 177,000 | 2024-02-07 | 10-K |
| 2022-12-31 | 173,000 | 2023-02-03 | 10-K |
| 2021-12-31 | 183,000 | 2022-02-04 | 10-K |
| 2020-12-31 | 186,000 | 2021-02-05 | 10-K |
| 2019-12-31 | 190,000 | 2020-02-05 | 10-K |
| 2018-12-31 | 199,000 | 2019-02-21 | 10-K |
| 2017-12-31 | 202,000 | 2018-02-08 | 10-K |
| 2016-12-31 | 201,000 | 2017-02-09 | 10-K |
| 2015-12-31 | 199,000 | 2016-02-11 | 10-K |
| 2014-12-31 | 187,000 | 2015-02-13 | 10-K |
| 2013-12-31 | 181,000 | 2014-02-18 | 10-K |
| 2012-12-31 | 1,640,000 | 2013-02-19 | 10-K |
| 2011-12-31 | 1,640,000 | 2012-02-21 | 10-K |
| 2010-12-31 | 1,640,000 | 2011-02-28 | 10-K |
| 2009-12-31 | 198,000 | 2010-02-25 | 10-K |
| 2008-12-31 | 213,000 | 2009-02-26 | 10-K |
| 2007-12-31 | 246,000 | 2008-02-27 | 10-K |
| 2006-12-31 | 283,000 | 2007-02-28 | 10-K |
| 2005-12-31 | 300,000 | 2006-03-01 | 10-K |
| 2004-12-31 | 324,864 | 2005-03-10 | 10-K |
| 2003-12-31 | 327,531 | 2004-03-12 | 10-K |
| 2002-12-31 | 350,321 | 2003-03-14 | 10-K |
| 2001-12-31 | 354,431 | 2002-03-28 | 10-K |
| 2000-12-31 | 345,991 | 2001-03-22 | 10-K |
| 1999-12-31 | 364,550 | 2000-03-16 | 10-K |
| 1998-12-31 | 345,175 | 1999-03-17 | 10-K |
| 1997-12-31 | 363,892 | 1998-03-18 | 10-K405 |
| 1996-12-31 | 371,702 | 1997-03-18 | 10-K405 |
| 1995-12-31 | 346,990 | 1996-03-19 | 10-K405 |
| 1994-12-31 | 337,778 | 1995-03-16 | 10-K |
| 1993-12-31 | 322,213 | 1994-03-21 | 10-K |
Limits of this reading
- No split by kind of work or country is stated beyond the UAW count; both pattern shares follow the business description (c).
Source: the company's annual report on EDGAR, accession 0000037996-26-000015, the filing. Read by Claude Fable 5.1 under rubric version 1, by the method. A company can write to info@stratussc.com to have its reading checked against its filing.
Questions about this company
- How much of Ford's working time is within reach of AI?
- An estimated 15% now and 26% by the end of 2028, on METR's long-run pace at four in five, from the workforce Ford's own annual report describes and BLS staffing patterns for its industries, never from a roster. It is an estimate with a stated method. It is not a forecast of jobs lost or of savings, and it says nothing about what the company will do.
- How many people does Ford employ?
- 169,000 as of December 31, 2025, as its annual report for the period ending December 31, 2025 states.
- What kinds of work make up Ford's workforce?
- Read from its annual report as a blend of 2 industry staffing patterns, the largest Motor Vehicle Manufacturing; by those patterns the work is about 28% desk work, 20% people work and 52% body work. Each share has a one-sentence reason on this page that can be checked against the filing.
- What does Ford's annual report say about AI?
- 6 sentences in the filing name AI. They are counted and quoted on this page, never judged: a count says how much a filing talks about AI, not what the company does with it.
- How is this estimated?
- Claude Fable 5.1 read the annual report under the Index's written rubric (version 1) on October 1, 2026: the stated headcount, the share in the U.S. when stated, and the workforce as a blend of industry staffing patterns. The estimates are the site's industry estimates weighted by those shares, from O*NET tasks with estimated lengths and METR's measurements of how long a task AI models can finish. A company can write to info@stratussc.com to have its reading checked against its filing.
Embed these figures on your site
A small card with the share of working time within reach now and at the end of 2027, 2028 and 2030, the date and a link back. Free under CC BY 4.0; the card carries the credit.