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Ford changes old evaluation system at root of lawsuits

Ford Motor Co told employees on Tuesday that it was changing a performance ranking system for managers that had become the subject of a growing number of lawsuits.

In a message sent to Ford employees, Jacques Nasser, the company's chief executive, said that Ford was altering its year-old performance evaluation system that graded managers and supervisors according to a letter-based ranking system.

Under the system, those who received the highest grade, an A, were the most likely to receive raises and promotions, while those who repeatedly received the lowest grade, a C, faced the possibility of dismissal.

Since the institution of the system at least six lawsuits have been filed against Ford asserting that the system was unfairly used to force out older employees and specifically white males in favor of younger and minority employees. Two of those lawsuits are seeking class-action status.

Anna Marie Gatteri, a Ford spokeswoman, said Wednesday that the changes in the ranking system were not made in response to the lawsuits. And Nasser also noted in his memo that the performance system had ``nothing to do with age or diversity.''

Under the old system, at least 10 percent of all employees were to have received a C. Earlier this year, that benchmark was lowered to 5 percent, Gatteri said.

Under the new system, the company's 18,000 managers and supervisors are graded with three designations: top achiever, achiever and improvement required. Gatteri said there was no longer any minimum percentage of employees that had to receive the lowest ranking.

Lawsuits against Ford have asserted that the ranking system was discriminatory because it encouraged managers to give older workers low grades because a manager's overall performance is based, in part, on his ability to diversify Ford's work force. The company has said that it wants to diversify its management ranks but that it does not have quotas.
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