Ford HR head admits 'We have failed in...' amid confusion over Return-to-Office emails

Ford 's human resources director has publicly acknowledged the automaker's failure to properly manage its return-to-office email communications, after compliant employees received threatening termination warnings due to system errors.

Homer Isaac , HR director for Ford's Enterprise Technology division, admitted during a September 9 all-hands meeting that the company had "failed" in its attempt to modify automated warning emails that incorrectly flagged employees who were actually following workplace attendance policies, according to a recording reviewed by Business Insider.

"The communications are standard, and I will pledge to this team, we have asked for those to be changed or modified — we have failed in that," Isaac said, acknowledging that workers "doing the things that you were supposed to" had been "caught up in a lot of that noise."

Termination threats sent to compliant workers
The confusion stems from Ford's June announcement requiring employees to work on-site four days a week starting September 1. Since then, multiple employees have received automated emails warning of "discipline up to and including termination" for insufficient badge-ins—despite meeting attendance requirements and having approved remote work arrangements, three current and former employees told Business Insider.

One former Ford employee said they continued receiving threatening emails even after complying with the three-day-a-week requirement and securing senior management approval for their remote working arrangement. "Flexibility is a two-way street," the employee said, noting that workers are now less willing to accommodate cross-timezone work outside normal hours.

Implementation chaos marks Ford's RTO push

The policy rollout has been rocky. An August trial run at Ford's Dearborn site proved "a little bit disastrous" due to parking shortages and insufficient desks, with police arriving to ticket illegally parked employees, according to workers who spoke with Business Insider.

Last week, frustration escalated publicly when meeting room displays at Ford's Dearborn headquarters showed a crossed-out image of CEO Jim Farley with an explicit anti-RTO message, the Detroit Free Press reported.

A Ford spokesperson defended the policy, stating the company has "given everyone time to adjust their schedules and work with their managers to make sure they are in compliance."