Ford Convenes National Leaders to Tackle Productivity Gap in America's Essential Economy

  • Three hundred leaders representing government and the United States' largest industrial firms gather to improve productivity in the Essential Economy – the 3 million businesses and 95 million workers who build, move and fix America
  • The summit addresses critical barriers—workforce shortages, complex regulations, and uneven innovation—that hinder infrastructure development and the affordability of goods and services
  • Ford and Ford Philanthropy announce several new investments for workforce programs to provide critical skills, tools, and resources for more than 100,000 students and educators

Ford Pro is convening 300 leaders from across the Essential Economy critical industries like manufacturing, utilities, transportation, construction, and energy, among others for a national forum to accelerate productivity in these critical sectors.

The summit, Ford Pro Accelerate: The Essential Economy, held at Michigan Central Station in Detroit, comes at an urgent moment for America, which is grappling with a yawning productivity divide. From 2015 to 2023, productivity in the knowledge economy rose 28 percent, powered by innovation in software and cloud services. During that same period, productivity in much of the Essential Economy declined.

"This summit addresses a fundamental challenge to America's prosperity: a growing productivity divide that holds back the very people who build, move, and fix our country," said Jim Farley, Ford president and CEO. "At Ford, we believe honoring these essential workers means equipping them to win. This is a call to action for business, technology, and government to break down the barriers of bureaucracy and underinvestment. The work we begin today is about ensuring America's Essential Economy is strong and fit for the future."

The urgency of this mission was echoed by other national business leaders.

"I would put this in the category of critically important right now," said Jamie Dimon, chairman and CEO of JPMorganChase. "America has one of the best and most prosperous economies the world has ever seen. But we've gotten bogged down by crippling bureaucracy that slows down growth, job creation, and innovation. Too often, it can take longer to get permits than to build something. We can grow our economy for the benefit of all Americans, and I believe meetings like this will help us do that."

"We need to do a better job helping people understand how critical our industries are," said John May, chairman and CEO of Deere & Company. "We need to demonstrate our purpose--to provide the food and critical infrastructure the world needs with equipment that allows our customers to do it in a more productive way and more profitably so they can continue to reinvest in their business and reinvest in their community."

"More than a million skilled trade jobs are going unfilled today – a number that's only projected to rise," said Linda Hubbard, President and CEO, Carhartt, Inc. "Skilled trade jobs are too often overlooked as pathways to meaningful careers, yet these workers are the backbone of our economy. Elevating and investing in this workforce is critical to our physical infrastructure, industrial production and community development—everything that supports our society and helps it advance."

In partnership with the Aspen Institute, Ford identified three evidence-based paths to address these productivity challenges:

  • Bolstering Human Capital: As the U.S. faces major workforce shortages—including 600,000 workers in manufacturing and 500,000 unfilled jobs in construction—federal spending on workforce services has dropped by two-thirds in inflation-adjusted terms since 1979.
  • Streamlining Regulatory Procedures: The average time for approval of a power-connection request has more than doubled since the early 2000s, and the U.S. now adds only one-eighth the annual miles of high-voltage transmission lines compared to 20 years ago.
  • Fostering Innovation Where It's Needed Most: Federal spending on R&D is at its lowest point as a percentage of GDP since 1953, with innovation shifting away from industrial sectors. The manufacturing industry's share of new patents fell from 78% in 1970 to 30% in 2010.

Recognizing that action must come from both the public and private sectors, Ford is leading through its Ford Essential Workforce Initiative . This includes programs like the UAW-Ford Joint Apprentice Program; nationwide auto tech recruiting and training partnerships; and Ford Pro services that make customers more productive, including a new collaboration with ServiceTitan.

Building on this commitment, Ford and Ford Philanthropy today announced new workforce development investments totaling over $5 million for 2025-2026, projected to benefit more than 100,000 students and educators through:

  • 15 Ford Future Builders Labs in Michigan and Tennessee to bring hands-on learning to K-12 students.
  • A new partnership with SkillsUSA to expand advanced manufacturing and automotive programs for high school students.
  • The creation of the Ford Philanthropy Advanced Manufacturing & Trades Scholarship to cover training, tools, and expenses for students pursuing careers in the skilled trades.
  • The expansion of Ford's Auto Tech Scholarship with TechForce Foundation, which has already provided $7 million in financial support to 1,400 students since 2023.

As part of these efforts, Ford is also exploring with Bloomberg Philanthropies how to expand its innovative model for career-focused high schools to the skilled trades.

Ford Pro Accelerate: The Essential Economy

At 10:30 a.m. ET today, a livestream of the Ford Pro Accelerate: The Essential Economy mainstage will be broadcast on fromtheroad.ford.com . Click here to register for access to the mainstage discussions.

About Ford Motor Company

Ford Motor Company (NYSE: F) is a global company based in Dearborn, Michigan, committed to helping build a better world, where every person is free to move and pursue their dreams. The company's Ford+ plan for growth and value creation combines existing strengths, new capabilities, and always-on relationships with customers to enrich experiences for customers and deepen their loyalty. Ford develops and delivers innovative, must-have Ford trucks, sport utility vehicles, commercial vans and cars and Lincoln luxury vehicles, along with connected services. The company offers freedom of choice through three customer-centered business segments: Ford Blue, engineering iconic gas-powered and hybrid vehicles; Ford Model e, inventing breakthrough electric vehicles ("EVs") along with embedded software that defines always-on digital experiences for all customers; and Ford Pro, helping commercial customers transform and expand their businesses with vehicles and services tailored to their needs. Additionally, the Company provides financial services through Ford Motor Credit Company. Ford employs about 169,000 people worldwide. More information about the company and its products and services is available at corporate.ford.com.

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Elizabeth Kraft
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Ekraft12@ford.com

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GRANDE PRAIRIE, ALBERTA (September 26, 2025) TheNewswire - Angkor Resources Corp. (TSXV: ANK,OTC:ANKOF) ("ANGKOR" OR "THE COMPANY") The Board of Directors, in recognition of exceptional performance and dedication, announces that they has chosen to   grant a total of 4,775,000 stock options to acquire the same number of common shares of the Company to Directors, Officers and consultants at a price of $0.255 per share, Certain options issued to Consultants are subject to vesting requirements. The options were granted pursuant to the Company's Stock Option Plan as approved by the Shareholders at the meeting in 2025 and are subject to the terms of the applicable grant agreements and the requirements of the TSX Venture Exchange. 2,600,000 of the options issued to Directors and officers expire 3 years from the date of the grant, with the remaining 2,175,000 options having a term of either 2 or 1 years subject to the optionees continuing to act as consultants of the Company.

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finlay minerals ltd. (TSXV: FYL,OTC:FYMNF) (OTCQB: FYMNF) ("Finlay" or the "Company") is pleased to announce that the results from airborne magnetic surveys conducted over the SAY and JJB properties (refer to Figure 1 ), have identified significant northwest- and northeast-trending structures. These structures resemble those found in the Toodoggone area of British Columbia which is recognized for its potential to host larger porphyry and epithermal deposits. A total of 1,900 kilometres ("km") of airborne magnetic survey data was collected over the two properties.

Follow-up groundwork at the SAY property focused on the IFT target, where a large circular magnetic anomaly, measuring 2.5 km by 2.5 km, was identified. This anomaly displays geophysical signatures similar to those observed in other copper porphyry deposits. Additionally, a second kilometre-scale target, known as Ozzy, was identified. Ozzy is located at the intersection of a northeast-trending magnetic anomaly and a northwest-trending magnetic anomaly. Further follow-up work is planned for both targets.

The SAY property was acquired in 2024, and an inaugural field program concentrated on chip sampling and mapping along the 4.3-kilometer-long SPUR Trend last summer. This effort led to the discovery of the 200 m x 200 m copper-silver mineralized AG Zone and confirmed the continuity of high-grade copper-silver mineralization at the Spur Target.  Chip sampling at the AG Zone included 9.5 metres of 0.94% Cu and 18.1 g/t Ag . (1)

The JJB property was staked in February, 2025 for its porphyry potential. Three main copper showings—Squingula, Quin, and Pat—have been identified. Squingula and Quin are located near an Eocene intrusion on the western side, and show a coincident magnetic high linked to a multi-element geochemical anomaly from limited sampling. This summer, fieldwork focused on the PAT target, one of three potential targets. This work aimed to evaluate the similarities between the high-grade copper-silver mineralization found at JJB and the SPUR/AG targets within the SAY Property.

SAY & JJB Project Highlights:

SAY 2025 Program :

JJB 2025 Program :



•       Over 1,200 line-km of airborne magnetics

•       Completion of Finlay's inaugural field program



•       Completion of property-wide LiDAR survey

•       Completion of property-wide LiDAR survey



•       Completion of satellite mineral alteration survey (PhotoSat)

•       Completion of satellite mineral alteration survey (PhotoSat)



•       84 rock samples collected

•       700 line-km of airborne magnetics



•       307 soil samples collected

•       18 rock samples collected



•       275 biogeochemistry samples collected

•       35 soil and talus samples collected

Processing of the LiDAR and satellite mineral alteration data is on-going.  All field samples have been submitted to the laboratory for analysis with results pending.

Situated in the underexplored Bear Lake corridor, the SAY and JJB projects are part of a 135-kilometre geological corridor that includes American Eagle Gold's NAK project, as well as Amarc Resources and Boliden Mineral Canada's DUKE copper-molybdenum-silver-gold prospects.

PIL and ATTY Project Updates:

Exploration work at the PIL and ATTY Toodoggone projects is on-going and anticipated to be completed within the next two weeks with continued induced polarization geophysical surveys. The PIL and ATTY work is fully funded by Freeport-McMoRan Mineral Properties Canada Inc. under their respective Earn-In Agreements (2) with Finlay acting as the operator.

References:

  1. Finlay news release NR13-24 dated November 20, 2024 entitled: " Finlay Minerals samples 1.17% Cu and 103.5 g/t Ag across 21.7 meters of a Continuous Chip Sample on the SAY Property ".

  2. Finlay news releases NR03-25 dated April 17, 2025 entitled: " Finlay Minerals Enters into Earn-In Agreements with Freeport for its PIL & ATTY Properties " and NR 05-25 dated May 2, 2025 and entitled: " Finlay Minerals Receives TSX Venture Exchange Approval for PIL Earn-In Agreement. "

Qualified Person:

Wade Barnes , P. Geo. and Vice President, Exploration for Finlay Minerals and a qualified person as defined by National Instrument 43-101, has approved the technical content of this news release.

About finlay minerals ltd.

Finlay is a TSXV company focused on exploration for base and precious metal deposits through the advancement of its ATTY, PIL, JJB, SAY and Silver Hope Properties; these properties host copper-gold porphyry and gold-silver epithermal targets within different porphyry districts of northern and central BC. Each property is located in areas of recent development and porphyry discoveries with the advantage of hosting the potential for new discoveries.

Finlay trades under the symbol "FYL" on the TSXV and under the symbol "FYMNF" on the OTCQB. For further information and details, please visit the Company's website at www.finlayminerals.com

On behalf of the Board of Directors,

Robert F. Brown ,
Executive Chairman of the Board

Neither the TSXV nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSXV) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

Forward-Looking Information: This news release includes certain "forward-looking information" and "forward-looking statements" (collectively, "forward-looking statements") within the meaning of applicable Canadian securities legislation. All statements in this news release that address events or developments that we expect to occur in the future are forward-looking statements.  Forward-looking statements are statements that are not historical facts and are generally, although not always, identified by words such as "expect", "plan", "anticipate", "project", "target", "potential", "schedule", "forecast", "budget", "estimate", "intend" or "believe" and similar expressions or their negative connotations, or that events or conditions "will", "would", "may", "could", "should" or "might" occur. All such forward-looking statements are based on the opinions and estimates of management as of the date such statements are made. Forward-looking statements in this news release include statements regarding, among others, the exploration plans for the Properties. Although Finlay believes the expectations expressed in such forward-looking statements are based on reasonable assumptions, such statements are not guarantees of future performance and actual results or developments may differ materially from those forward-looking statements. Factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those in forward-looking statements include market prices, exploration successes, and continued availability of capital and financing and general economic, market or business conditions. These forward-looking statements are based on a number of assumptions including, among other things, assumptions regarding general business and economic conditions, the timing and receipt of regulatory and governmental approvals, the ability of Finlay and other parties to satisfy stock exchange and other regulatory requirements in a timely manner, the availability of financing for Finlay's proposed transactions and programs on reasonable terms, and the ability of third-party service providers to deliver services in a timely manner. Investors are cautioned that any such statements are not guarantees of future performance and actual results or developments may differ materially from those projected in the forward-looking statements, and accordingly undue reliance should not be put on such statements due to the inherent uncertainty therein. Finlay does not assume any obligation to update or revise its forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future or otherwise, except as required by applicable law.

SOURCE finlay minerals ltd.

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