Detroit area Ford dealership lets go of employee after ‘hateful' UAW comment

A Detroit area Ford dealership owned by auto retail giant Lithia Motors Inc. "let go" an employee who posted an inflammatory comment about the UAW on social media — around the time thousands of Ford workers went on strike last week.

Suburban Ford of Ferndale on Sunday posted an apology on its Facebook page for "hateful" comments it said were made by "a former parts department employee." The dealership's post has since been taken down.

The employee had made several comments on a Facebook page geared for UAW members to talk about contract negotiations with the Detroit 3.

It was not immediately clear when the worker made the comments or what post they were responding to. But in screenshots shared over the weekend, the employee said in one comment: "Umm how about they want to work 32 hours but get paid for 40 hours.....?" In another, they wrote, "I work for a Ford dealership so depending on how bad this gets it could affect me." In a third comment, they wrote "F--- the UAW."

A Lithia spokesperson told Automotive News that the employee was "let go" Friday for violating the company's social media policy.

The former employee's profile is no longer on the dealership's website, and their Facebook profile also appears to have been removed.

"We understand there was a comment from one of our employees on social media recently that hurt many people," the dealership's Facebook post said. "Although we cannot control a individual from voicing their opinion on social media, Suburban Ford of Ferndale doesn't support the same message and supports all UAW workers, and we support their right to strike."

The UAW launched a historic strike against all three Detroit automakers last Friday. About 13,000 workers at three plants — one each from General Motors, Ford Motor Co. and Stellantis — are on strike. The Ford plant is Michigan Assembly in Wayne, which also is in the Detroit area.

UAW President Shawn Fain announced in a Monday video that the automakers have a deadline of noon this Friday to make "serious progress" in negotiations before he expands the "stand-up strike."

Suburban Ford of Ferndale is part of Lithia's Suburban Collection in southeast Michigan. Lithia bought the large private group in April 2021.

A handful of people left negative reviews on the dealership's Facebook page, voicing their displeasure with the former employee's comments. In addition, several older Facebook posts by the dealership were filled with commenters voicing their frustration.

Thom Fladung, managing partner for crisis communications company Hennes Communications in Cleveland, said everything on social media potentially can go viral.

"Inappropriate use of social media by employees is one of the most frequent self-inflicted crises that we see," Fladung told Automotive News.

Fladung said everyone has the ability to say what they want on social media, but with a caveat: Employees have to realize the impact it could have on their employer.

And employees should realize their actions could have other consequences, he said.

"You always represent that employer in some way or other," Fladung said. "What we saw here is always possible."

Lithia, of Medford, Ore., ranks No. 1 on Automotive News' list of the top 150 dealership groups based in the U.S., retailing 271,596 new vehicles in 2022. Lithia's sales figures include dealerships outside the U.S.