Lacks transparency. Publishes some details, but doesn't show its workers are paid and treated fairly.
Last researched 2 November 2026 · 16 sources
US carmaker selling the Ranger ute, Everest SUV, Transit vans and Mustang.
Ford's supply chain was linked to forced labour in 2025.
Also worth knowing
Ford has only partly acted on it and has no full independent audit.
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Why it's graded Lacks transparency
- Not met: Meets 1 of 6 Good requirements.
- Holds the grade back: It has 3 red flags, 2 of which set the grade: unaudited production in high-risk countries and forced or child labour. Two or more red flags means a poor grade.
- It isn't Harm on record: the most serious problem on its record (forced labour link, last recorded in 2025) was a link through a supplier, which the company has only partly acted on.
- Lacks transparency is still a poor grade: in supply chains like this, workers who can't be seen to be treated fairly are usually underpaid or unprotected.
Good requirements 1 of 6
- Not met: Pays a living wage, or holds a strong fair-pay certificationLiving wage: no evidence
- Not met: Respects worker rightsMost of its products are made in countries such as Thailand and Türkiye, where unions are heavily restricted, and it has no full supply chain audit.
- Not met: Supply chain independently audited or certified, or at least 80% made in countries with strong labour standards
- Not met: No child or forced labour findings or links
- Met: Names the factories or farms that make its products, or is fully certified by a scheme that holds and audits that listMakes its products in its own factories
- Not met: Traces its battery metals to the mine and its aluminium to smelters outside Xinjiang
Red flags 3
- Red flag: No evidence it pays a living wageShown to explain the grade. It isn't one of the 2 red flags that set it.
- Red flag: Made mostly in countries with poor worker rights, without a full independent audit of its supply chain
- Red flag: Forced, slave or child labour found in or linked to its supply chain
Stars it would earn as Good
None yet. Stars only show on Good companies. About stars
Where it's made
From press and retailer reports. Ford makes its products in its own factories, but we haven't recorded its countries from it yet. The rest is shown as where cars and bikes are usually made.
| Country | Share | Worker rights | Legal minimum wage | Forced labour risk |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Thailand | 45% | No guarantee of rights | Below a living wage | Moderate |
| Türkiye | Not given | No guarantee of rights | Below a living wage | Very high |
| United States | Not given | Systematic violations | Below a living wage | Low |
| South Africa | Not given | Regular violations | Below a living wage | Low |
| ChinaUsual for the industry | 9% | No guarantee of rights | Below a living wage | Moderate |
| JapanUsual for the industry | 7% | Strong protections | Close to a living wage | Low |
| South KoreaUsual for the industry | 4% | No guarantee of rights | Close to a living wage | Low |
| GermanyUsual for the industry | 1% | Strong protections | About a living wage | Low |
| SpainUsual for the industry | 1% | Strong protections | Close to a living wage | Low |
| IndiaUsual for the industry | 1% | No guarantee of rights | Well below a living wage | High |
| MexicoUsual for the industry | 1% | Regular violations | Below a living wage | Moderate |
Evidence
What we found
- Risk across the industry, not a finding about this company: battery metals, aluminium and steel link carmakers to state-imposed forced labour in Xinjiang, child and forced labour in DR Congo's cobalt mines and deadly nickel smelters in Indonesia; aluminium auto parts and lithium-ion batteries from China are on the US forced labour list.
- Owns or runs its own production
- Modern slavery statement
- Publishes its mineral smelter list and uses independently audited smelters (RMAP) for tin, tantalum, tungsten and gold
- It belongs to a scheme such as IRMA or the Aluminium Stewardship Initiative, publishes some refiners or traces some of its metals, but doesn't show both its battery metals traced to the mine and its aluminium traced to smelters outside Xinjiang. Source
Research notes Most Fords sold in Australia are the Ranger ute and Everest SUV built at Rayong, Thailand, with the Ranger plug-in hybrid from South Africa, the F-150 and Mustang from the US and the Transit from Türkiye; the Thai share is a rough estimate from reported sales. Ford assembles nearly all of them in its own plants. Ford is an IRMA purchasing member and publishes a 3TG smelter list (65% of 332 smelters responsible sources in 2025), and says it has audited battery suppliers for nickel, lithium, cobalt and graphite to the mine site, but it doesn't name its battery mines or show its aluminium is traced to smelters outside Xinjiang. Lead the Charge rates its human rights due diligence the best of 18 carmakers, though still under 50%.
What independent sources say
| Source | Result | Details |
|---|---|---|
| Lead the Charge auto supply chain leaderboard | Listed | Ford scored 49% on Human Rights & Responsible Sourcing in the Lead the Charge 2026 auto supply chain leaderboard, the highest of 18 carmakers (45% overall, 2nd); it is credited for IRMA audits and battery mineral due diligence, but its minerals sourcing score fell 19 points. View |
| News reporting and NGO investigations | Listed | Amnesty International's Recharge for Rights ranking (October 2024, the only edition) scored Ford 41 out of 90 on battery supply chain human rights due diligence, among the higher scorers. View |
| Australian Modern Slavery Register | Listed | Ford Motor Company's global modern slavery statement names Ford Motor Company of Australia and is lodged on the Australian register (2021 statement seen). View |
| UK Modern Slavery Statement Registry | Listed | Ford Motor Company Limited lodges modern slavery statements on the UK registry (2022 statement, published 2023). View |
| US forced-labour import bans (UFLPA Entity List, CBP Withhold Release Orders) | Problem found | US customs issued a Withhold Release Order on Linglong's Serbian tyre factory in December 2025 over forced labour; Ford has said it does business with Shandong Linglong Tire. Ford itself is not on the UFLPA Entity List. View |
| US Department of Labor goods lists | Listed | The US Department of Labor's 2024 list names aluminium from China and the auto parts made with it as produced with forced labour; Thailand and the US, where most Fords sold in Australia are built, have no vehicle entries. View |
| Business & Human Rights Resource Centre | Listed | Records Ford's response on its Linglong tyre supplier (2025) and its non-responses to the Sheffield Hallam report on Uyghur forced labour (2023) and to 2023 child labour allegations in its US supply chain. View |
Confirmed issues 2
Only confirmed problems are listed, and old ones drop off after 10 to 15 years. A problem the company has fully put right no longer counts against it, and nor does one it finds and is fixing itself. How problems are counted
| Last recorded | What happened | Made amends? |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | Link through a supplierUS customs issued a Withhold Release Order in December 2025 on Linglong International Europe's tyre factory in Zrenjanin, Serbia, citing nine ILO indicators of forced labour among its workers, after earlier reports of migrant worker abuse; Ford has said it does business with Shandong Linglong Tire (Business & Human Rights Resource Centre, 2025). Source · search the archive | PartlyFord confirmed it buys from Shandong Linglong Tire and said a preliminary industry audit found no evidence of the abuses there; it says it investigates suppliers that break its code. |
| 2022 | Link through a supplierSheffield Hallam University and NomoGaia's Driving Force report named Ford among carmakers with several supply chain exposures to steel, aluminium and copper made with Uyghur forced labour (Sheffield Hallam University, 2022). Source · archived copy | Not knownFord did not respond to the Business & Human Rights Resource Centre's request for a response. |
Unconfirmed reports
Credible reports that haven't been confirmed by a regulator, completed investigation or the company. They're shown for your information and don't affect the grade.
- A 2024 investigation by journalist Peter Bengtsen found migrant workers at Taiwanese parts maker Lioho Machine Works, a direct Ford supplier, paid recruitment fees of up to about 730,000 yen and remained in debt; Ford said it was investigating and had asked for an independent third-party review (Toyo Keizai, 2024). Source
- In 2023 the Business & Human Rights Resource Centre asked Ford to respond to reports of migrant child labour in its US supply chain, and Ford did not respond (Business & Human Rights Resource Centre, 2023). Source
Sources and actions
Sources 16
Show all 16 sources
- Ford scorecard 2026 (Lead the Charge) · search the archive · 45% overall, 49% human rights; IRMA auditing; 3TG smelter disclosure; no aluminium or steel improvement
- IRMA members and partners · search the archive · Ford Motor Company is an IRMA purchasing member
- Ford non-response to alleged sourcing from Serbian Linglong factory amid migrant worker abuse (Business & Human Rights Resource Centre) · search the archive · Ford does business with Shandong Linglong Tire; RSCI audit found no evidence of the issues
- CBP issues Withhold Release Order on Linglong International Europe, Zrenjanin (Business & Human Rights Resource Centre, 2025) · search the archive · WRO around 18 December 2025 citing nine ILO forced labour indicators
- Report: Driving Force: automotive supply chains and forced labor in the Uyghur Region (Business & Human Rights Resource Centre) · archived copy · Ford named with several exposures; did not respond
- Ford Motor Co. did not respond to allegations of child labour in its supply chain (Business & Human Rights Resource Centre, 2023) · search the archive · Ford did not respond to 2023 child labour allegations
- Human rights ranking of the electric vehicle industry (Amnesty International, 2024) · search the archive · Ford among the higher scorers
- Ford Motor Company modern slavery statement 2021 (Australian Modern Slavery Register) · search the archive · Names Ford Motor Company of Australia; IRMA member; RBA-validated audits; recruitment fee ban
- 2022 Global Modern Slavery and Human Trafficking Transparency statement (Ford Motor Company Limited, UK registry) · search the archive · UK registry statement
- List of Goods Produced by Child Labor or Forced Labor (US Department of Labor, 2024) · search the archive · Aluminium from China and auto parts made with it
- Where Australia's top 10 cars are made (CarExpert, March 2025) · search the archive · Ranger (62,593 sales in 2024) and Everest built at Rayong, Thailand
- The most popular new cars in Australia by country of origin (Chasing Cars, August 2025) · search the archive · Ranger from Thailand, Ranger PHEV from South Africa, F-150 and Mustang from the US, Transit from Türkiye
- Allegations of forced labor at Japanese auto parts supplier in Taiwan (Toyo Keizai, 2024) · search the archive · Lioho Machine Works a direct Ford supplier; Ford investigating and seeking third-party review
- Amnesty: BYD scores worst on human rights in EV makers ranking (NewMobility, 2024) · search the archive · Ford 41/90 in Amnesty's Recharge for Rights
- Ford releases 2023 Integrated Sustainability and Financial Report (Business Wire) · search the archive · 30 supplier audits along nickel, lithium, cobalt and graphite supply chains to the mine site; due diligence system audit in 2023
Published by Ford or its owner
- Ford conflict minerals report (2025) · search the archive · Smelter and refiner list published; 65% of 332 3TG smelters responsible sources; 3TG only; mine locations hard to identify
Company details
- Owned by
- Ford Motor Company
- Headquarters
- United States
- Employees
- About 170,000
- Last researched
- 2 November 2026
- Cite this page
- Labour Lens, "Is Ford ethical? Labour rating", https://www.labourlens.net/brand/ford, last researched 2 November 2026, accessed [date].
- Method
- Researched with AI assistance against published rules. How we check · What Lacks transparency means
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