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Ford will fire CEO Mark Fields and replace him with self-driving car chief Jim Hackett, according to the New York Times. The news comes amid turmoil in the company, including a steep 25 percent drop in car sales so far this year and layoffs of 1,400 salaried employees and possibly many more to come. The announcement is expected sometime later today.
It's not just the drop in sales, market share, earnings and the stock price (down 40 percent since Fields took the reins) that has Ford investors alarmed. The company is also lagging behind rivals in the pace of tech development areas now considered crucial for automakers.
For instance, it's still three years from releasing a long-range electric vehicle, while GM already has one on the market (the Bolt). Ford is also well behind rivals in self-driving car tech, having launched its "mobility" subsidiary just over a year ago.
The fact that industry sales are down overall in the US after a two-year winning streak didn't help Fields' case either, the NYT says. Ford's small and mid-size cars are particularly unprofitable compared to trucks and SUVs. The company has also dealt with a number of quality-control issues that have led to recalls this year.
Ford will announce other executive shakeups, appointing Americas head Joseph H. Hinrichs as executive VP for global operations. Chief Technical Officer Marcy Klevorn will reportedly take over Hackett's job as head of autonomous vehicles.
Tesla, founded exactly 100 years after Ford, famously surpassed it in total market value last month. Though CEO Elon Musk believes the figure is out of whack, it is a sign that investors think autonomous and green tech are crucial for automakers. With the appointment of its autonomous chief as CEO, Ford obviously thinks so too.