The Automotive Troublemaker: Attempted Test Drive Robbery

How are you rating your employees' performance? On this Friday, we dig into GM’s new employee evaluation, ask whether a salesman was right in trying to stop a test drive burglary and discuss the latest fallout from the CrowdStrike outages.

GM is revamping its U.S. salaried employee performance ratings to reward top performers more generously and pressure low performers to improve or leave. Under the new system, the top 5% of employees now receive 150% bonuses, surpassing previous rewards.

• An internal memo says that “To ensure GM has the talent needed to achieve our ambitious goals, a more intentional process is required that sets clear expectations for performance and holds people accountable.”

• Employees are now rated on a five scale evaluation: Significantly Exceeds Expectations, Exceeds Expectations, Achieves Expectations, Partially Meets Expectations, Does Not Meet Expectations

• GM believes that approximately 70% of its employees will fall into the "achieves expectations" category under the new performance rating system, receiving 100% of their target bonuses. The company estimates that about 5% will be rated as "does not meet expectations," facing potential "appropriate action," including possible exit from the company.

• Similar adjustments are being made by other automakers like Ford to stay competitive against EV-focused companies like Tesla and Rivian.

A New Orleans man was arrested after attempting to steal an Audi during a test drive on July 30th in Metairie, Louisiana. The suspect, Reginald Vaughn, encountered unexpected resistance from a dealership employee.

• The car thief, Reginald Vaughn stopped the Audi abruptly during the test drive and threatened the dealership employee with a firearm, demanding they exit the vehicle.

• After a short struggle while the car was being driven, the employee managed to put the car in park.

• Vaughn fled the scene but was later arrested at a nearby urgent care facility where authorities discovered he was currently on probation for burglarizing vehicles

CrowdStrike is being sued by its shareholders for a global software outage on July 19 that crashed over 8 million computers worldwide, claiming that CrowdStrike misled investors about the adequacy of its software testing.

• The lawsuit claims CrowdStrike failed to disclose deficient update controls and inadequate software testing, which created a substantial risk of major outages and ultimately caused significant reputational and legal harm to the company.

• CrowdStrike’s share price fell by 32%, significantly reducing its market value.

• A CrowdStrike spokesperson stated, "We believe this case lacks merit and we will vigorously defend the company."

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