Ford taps Johnson Controls exec as Americas manufacturing head retires

A 33-year Ford Motor Co. veteran and a manufacturing and labor affair executive is retiring from the Dearborn automaker ahead of United Auto Workers negotiations later this year and in the midst of the Blue Oval’s transition to electrification.

The planned retirement of John Savona, vice president of manufacturing and labor affairs for the Americas, will happen on March 1. The company has tapped as his replacement Bryce Currie, who mostly recently was the chief manufacturing officer for HVAC equipment producer Johnson Controls International plc. Currie joins Ford on Jan. 30 to transition into the role and will report to Kumar Galhotra, president of Ford Blue, the internal combustion engine side of the automaker’s business.

John Savona will retire on March 1 as Ford Motor Co.'s vice president of manufacturing and labor affairs for the Americas.

Currie will oversee 70,000 people, mostly members of the UAW and Canada’s Unifor, at more than 30 locations. National negotiations with both unions are set to begin later this year prior to their contracts expiring in September. The talks are expected to have a significant impact on the role of the union and its members and the automakers’ footprint in the age of electrification that could have ramifications for decades to come.

Currie has previously worked with the UAW, the International Association of Sheet Metal, Air, Rail and Transportation Workers and other unions at Johnson Controls, where he oversaw 30,000 people at nearly 90 plants and 120 distribution centers worldwide. Currie also held role overseeing manufacturing transformations at GE Aviation and TRW Automotive, which is now part of the ZF Group.

His bachelor’s degree is from Purdue University, and he holds a master’s degree in business administration from Western Michigan University. He began his career at AlliedSignal Bendix, which is now part of Honeywell International Inc.

Bryce Currie will become Ford Motor Co.'s vice president of manufacturing and labor affairs for the Americas effective March 1.

Galhotra in a statement said Currie, like Savona, exhibits a servant-leadership management style and knows how to support teams with what they need to be most effective. Currie will work with product engineering and supply chain management to improve quality, lower complexity, limit waste and reduce costs.

“Bryce is an inspirational manager with high integrity who’s skilled at running large, complex global industrial operations,” Galhotra said.  “He constantly challenges himself and the people around him to imagine and achieve more on behalf of customers.”

Currie also has a brother-in-law and niece who work at Ford. His mother- and father-in-law retired from the company, as well.

“I see this less about returning to the auto industry than being part of creating something new and exciting,” he said in a statement.  “Ford is helping define and deliver a future made possible by smart, connected gas and electric vehicles, and that’s very appealing to me.”