Hackett Aims To Reshape Ford Motor Company

DEARBORN, MI — After a little less than a month on the job, new Ford CEO Jim Hackett has come up with four major areas he will address in short order to get the automaker back on track. He plans to evaluate additional revenue opportunities, the company’s overall fitness, it’s capital deployment and unleash top Ford leaders to innovate.

Hackett replaced Mark Fields as CEO in May after leading Ford’s Smart Mobility company. The move was made because of the Dearborn automaker’s declining profits and falling stock Ford shares slipped about 40 percent since Fields replaced Alan Mulally in July 2014.

Ten percent of that slide came in the first five months of this year. To help trim costs, Ford recently announced a reduction of 10 percent of its salaried employees in response to the softening U.S. auto market. Besides Fields, a new senior management structure was put in place at Ford Motor Company to emphasize quicker decision-making and crisper execution.

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"We are staying focused on our plan for creating value and profitable growth. We do not comment on speculation or rumors," Ford said in a statement at the time of Fields’ firing. Media reports speculated Hackett was also installed to speed up the company’s move toward mobility products and services.

In an interview with the Detroit Free Press over the weekend, Hackett said he believes his plans are taking shape.

"Every CEO that starts has a 100-day clock ticking. ... So I am working on a 100-day plan that is really coming along nicely," Hackett told the Free Press.

"The good news is, we have plenty of capital. ... The sources of capital are not the problem. It’s the uses," Hackett said. "You can exit things — it's well-known, competitor’s have been doing that — and Ford has been on that already."

For more, go to the Detroit Free Press.

File photo