Six Ford Executives to Leave Amid Reshuffling
DEARBORN, Mich. — Ford Motor Co. announced Thursday that six executives are retiring in the third shuffle since July as the auto maker tries to turn around declining sales and profit.
The executives include James Donaldson, 58, group vice president of global business development, and Vaughn Koshkarian, 60, vice president of Ford Asia Pacific.
Ford also had named a new head of North America and chief financial officer and combined car and truck engineering under one executive in the last three months.
The second-largest auto maker’s U.S. sales have fallen 11% this year, twice the industry’s decline. The Sept. 11 terrorist attacks disrupted sales, prompting Ford to add 0% financing on vehicles and contributing to a second straight quarterly loss. The company this week slashed its quarterly stock dividend by 50% to conserve cash.
The other departing executives include Michael Jordan, 54, vice president of Ford customer service; James Yost, 52, vice president of corporate strategy; and Elliott Hall, 63, vice president of dealer development.
The retirements of five executives are set to take effect Jan. 1, but some may leave earlier, spokesman Ron Iori said.
In addition, Mark Hutchins, 56, president of the Lincoln Mercury division, plans to retire sometime next year and will be succeeded by Brian Kelley, 40, vice president of global consumer services.
Three positions--Kelley’s, Jordan’s and Hall’s--are not being immediately filled while the auto maker studies how to assign the duties, Iori said.
The management changes provide “some evidence that Ford may be focusing on its core car/truck business,” Morgan Stanley analyst Stephen Girsky said in a report.
Separately, Ford has settled lawsuits for undisclosed terms with the families of 26 people injured and five people killed in 11 rollover accidents in the Southwest involving Explorers equipped with Bridgestone/Firestone Inc. tires, one of the attorneys representing the families said.
Ford spokeswoman Kathleen Vokes said the auto maker stands by the safety of the Explorer and said the settlements of these and other cases is not an admission of guilt.
Ford shares fell 13 cents to $18 on the New York Stock Exchange.
