Ford Bronco, Ranger Plant Manager No Longer With Company

By now, it’s no secret that the sixth-generation Ford Bronco has faced many production-related challenges since its launch. Those include supplier-driven hardtop woes that continue to plague the SUV, as well as a handful of Ford 2.7L V6 EcoBoost engine failures that are currently being investigated by the NHTSA. Ford has ditched certain features in an effort to speed up deliveries, but the 2022 Bronco and Ford Bronco Raptor both sold out rather quickly, and demand still far exceeds supply. Now, the Detroit Free Press is reporting that Michigan Assembly plant manager Erik Williams – who oversaw production of the Ford Bronco and Ford Ranger, is no longer with the company as of last Thursday.

It’s currently unclear what led to Williams leaving his position, as both he and FoMoCo have yet to comment on the situation. “We do not comment on individual personnel matters. However, we can confirm he is no longer with the company,” Ford spokesman Said Deep told the Free Press. Ford also hasn’t yet named a replacement for Williams, who has been employed by Ford since 2004.

Ford’s Bronco-related engine and hardtop woes have only complicated the SUV’s launch amid numerous supply chain shortages and extreme demand over the past couple of years. From the day that Ford started taking reservations for the new Bronco, it was overwhelmed as its website crashed, and demand for the SUV quickly exceeded its production capacity. Today, roughly two years later, Ford is still trying to catch up on its existing Bronco orders.

At the same time, CEO Jim Farley has recently placed a major focus on quality, even going so far as to hire quality turnaround specialist and former J.D. Power Vice President Josh Halliburton as its new executive director of quality, who recently stated that the automaker’s quality issues will begin to subside as early as next year.

We’ll have more on the Bronco soon, so be sure and subscribe to Ford Authority for more Ford Bronco news and continuous Ford news coverage.

Brett's lost track of all the Fords he's owned over the years and how much he's spent modifying them, but his current money pits include an S550 Mustang and 13th gen F-150.

Brett Foote

Brett's lost track of all the Fords he's owned over the years and how much he's spent modifying them, but his current money pits include an S550 Mustang and 13th gen F-150.

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  • All complex products that are mass produced and sold for less than it would cost to hand build... are junk. Any company over 125 years old and still winning awards have seen their share of good times and bad times. All vehicles are disposable; do your homework before you spend a year's salary or more on a brand new vehicle built by any company or better yet, build it yourself if you can find the parts.

  • Stop overloading jobs, cutting out inspectors and bring back parts in house.
    You get what you pay for.

  • I put made my reservation in March of 2020 for my Bronco WildTrack. I still do not have it. The most annoying thing is that there is no communication from Ford or my local dealership.

    • My Wildtrack took about 15 months to get... You NEED to get ahold of the dealer you placed your order with, eliminate a few options, and have them escalate it and you will be driving one sooner than later.

    • They have been taking long, but that doesn’t sound right. Either your order was lost, or the back-up is horrible. 🤞

  • I think it's bad business for a company , not to keep people informed of what is going on with there vehicles order. Ford just keeps on putting out vehicles and they don't have everything for them to deliver a product to the consumer. That's just bad business!

  • If Ford were the only car company with problems!
    But all Companies GM and Chrysler plus the car companies overseas have problems. They don't escape recalls are supplies demands. If man makes it is not perfect.

    • Ford is having a lot more problems than the others. Ford's new CEO has been driving the company into the ground ever since he took over, he only cares about what the Government wants (EVs).

  • This is the CEO's fault. Jim Farley has been putting all focus on EVs instead of practicality and quality. The CEO has even been diverting chips to their EVs (which few people want) instead of giving them to their regular vehicles. Typical fashion they fire someone else but not the person responsible.

    • Jim Farley is only picking up the pieces left by his predecessor (Jim Hackett). Hackett was very profit driven. The real enemy of Ford is the Ford family (majority stockholders of a very diluted valued stock). They pick the CEOs of the company. Most future company operational decisions must be ramrodded through them before approval for production. Product Quality Control has been lacking since Alan Mulally retired.

  • What's up with delivery/ shipping issues. New ranger, Ford says was built 4/18/22 and still waiting for delivery? Crazy.

  • They get rid of the production people and all they do is put the car together. What about the engineers who come up with thr crappy design? The car doesn't go together correctly because 1+1 doesn't equal 3...

  • They had to scapegoat someone for the ongoing build quality and launch issues at MAP. Instead of admitting they got rid of all STA employees who knew something about supplier requirements and replaced them with new inexperienced engineers from other departments and or cheaper college grads with zero experience in supplier requirements. This is just a repeated issue from the Explorer launch fiasco.