Ford survey shows employees optimistic about future

Ford Motor Co.'s latest internal employee survey shows morale is up sharply and employees' confidence in the company's future has reached an all-time high.

That is according to Ford's latest quarterly report card, a copy of which was obtained by The Detroit News.

It shows that 89 percent of employees have a positive outlook, compared to less than 55 percent in the middle of 2008. The survey was conducted in December.

"It's a very positive reflection of employee confidence in Ford," said spokeswoman Marcey Evans, who confirmed the authenticity of the report. "It reflects their confidence in our company and their confidence in our products."

The December results were 2 percentage points higher than the previous survey, conducted last June.

The survey also asked workers if they were looking forward to their future as a Ford employee, and 85 percent said they were.

Ford was the only U.S. automaker to pass on federal bailout and the only one to avoid bankruptcy. Despite an overall decline in car and truck sales, it gained 1.1 percentage points of market share in the United States last year.

That helped the Dearborn automaker earn more than $2.7 billion -- its first annual profit since 2005. Over the past year, Ford's stock has soared to levels not seen since the end of 2004, and the company has restored some of the employee benefits it previously cut.