The Ford Motor Company is an American multinational car maker. The company's headquarters are in Dearborn, Michigan, Detroit. The car maker was incorporated on 16th June 1903. It was founded by Henry Ford.

1. The History of Ford Motors
The Ford Motor Company is an American multinational car maker. The company's
headquarters are in Dearborn, Michigan, Detroit. The car maker was incorporated on 16th
June 1903. It was founded by Henry Ford.
Today, Ford sell motor cars and commercial vehicles, its most luxurious line being the
predominantly US geared Lincoln brand. Ford owns the Australian sports car brand FPV, as
well as Troller, the Brazilian SUV manufacturer. The company also owns a 2.1% share in
Japanese car maker Mazda, an 8% stake in Britain's Aston Martin, and a 49% stake in
Chinese car manufacturer Jiangling. The company has a number of joint ventures in Turkey,
Russia and Thailand.
Henry Ford started the Ford Motor Company from a converted factory in 1903 after raising
$28,000 in cash from 12 investors (including Horace and John Dodge). In its former years,
the company produced just a few cars a day from its plant in Mack Avenue, Detroit, groups
of two or three men assembling each car.
Within a decade, Henry Ford introduced the first moving assembly line to manufacture the
hugely publicised Model T. Instead of his employees working on multiple aspects of the
car's manufacture, they switched to a moving belt role, specialising on one aspect of
production. The result was that whilst the moving assembly line proved to be highly
successful, Ford's staff were becoming volatile. With a 370% annual staff turnover, Ford was
haemorrhaging staff with which to run his assembly line.

2. On 5th January 1914, under the advisement of his lieutenant, James Couzens, Henry Ford
called a press conference at his Highland Park plant in Michigan. Ford announced his
immediate plan to reduced his workers' day from nine hours to eight; set up a third working
shift, thereby opening up many new jobs. Finally he announced that he would be
implementing a pay rise, effective immediately, doubling his workers' wages to $5 a day.
Henry Ford's actions were risky, but ultimately paid off in dividends, as Tony Freeman and
those with an interest in this history of corporate business will agree. Staff turnover dropped
from 370% per annum to just 16%. He created wealth within the local community: more
clientele for his brand, not to mention the boost in goodwill created all across the US by this
New York Times reported publicity stunt.
Today, the Ford Motor Company manufactures and distributes cars across six continents.
The company also operates in the sector of car finance through its subsidiary, Ford Financial
Services. Ford Motors is ranked #45 in the Forbes List of the World's Most Valuable Brands,
ranking #22 in Sales, and #133 in the Forbes List of America's Best Employers. The
company's CEO is Mark Fields; Ford employed over 181,000 employees in 2014, with
international sales topping $146 billion.