Ford Unveils Deeper Cuts
To Fend Off Financial Crisis
JOSEPH B. WHITE & JEFFREY
MCCRACKEN
Wall Street Journal 15sep2006
[See transcript below]
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Ford Motor Co. announced Friday plans to offer buyouts to all hourly workers, cut 10,000 more salaried jobs and shut down two more plants as part of an accelerated restructuring plan to restore the struggling auto maker to profitability.
Ford said its board also intends to suspend payment of a quarterly stock dividend beginning in the fourth quarter. Ford shares fell $1.14, or more than 12%, to $7.95 in early-afternoon trading on the New York Stock Exchange.
Pointing up U.S. auto-making woes, DaimlerChrysler AG announced Friday its U.S. arm is likely to post third-quarter losses double its previous projections.
Ford, Dearborn, Mich., said it is looking to lower ongoing annual operating costs by about $5 billion. Ford doesn't expect full-year profitability for its North American auto operations before 2009; it had said a profit was possible in 2008.
Ford said the new salaried position cuts are in addition to 4,000 of those positions eliminated in the first quarter of this year. The combined 14,000 jobs cuts represents about a third of Ford's North American white-collar work force.
The plan, which originated early this year under the name "Way Forward," also includes an agreement between Ford and the United Auto Workers union on buyout offers for all of its Ford and Automotive Components Holdings hourly employees in the U.S. News of the deal, covering roughly 75,000 unionized workers at Ford, emerged yesterday after it was disseminated to UAW members.
Ford said it will accelerate its previously announced goal of reducing 25,000 to 30,000 North American manufacturing employees by the end of 2012. The reductions now will be completed by the end of 2008. Also, nine facilities will be idled and cease production in that timeframe, including seven already announced.
The company said it would shutter a stamping plant in Maumee, Ohio, in 2008 and an engine plant in Essex, Ontario, in 2007. In addition, an assembly plant in Norfolk, Va., will close in 2007, a year earlier than previously announced.
By the end of 2008, Ford's North America manufacturing capacity is projected at 3.6 million, down 26% from 2005. Under the new plan, Ford said it also intends to sell or close of its Automotive Components facilities by the end of 2008.
"These actions have painful consequences for communities and many of our loyal employees," company Chairman Bill Ford said in a prepared statement. "But rapid shifts in consumer demand that affect our product mix and continued high prices for commodities mean we must continue working quickly and decisively to fix our business."
The company said it also plans to renew 70% of its product lineup by the end of 2008.
Mr. Ford also said Friday the auto maker has no plan to take itself private despite speculation suggesting the company might be mulling such an option. "It's certainly not in our plans," he said during a conference call with analysts and media to discuss the accelerated restructuring. At the same time, he said the company won't rule out any options in its effort to fix itself.
Chief Financial Officer Don Leclair said the auto maker has no plan to sell its Ford Credit unit, because the company sees it as a core operation. In addition, Ford International Chief Mark Schulz said Ford's luxury Jaguar unit "is not for sale" at this time.
The buyouts come amid indications that Ford will post wider losses and burn through more cash this year than previously expected. They also came as Anne Stevens, the No. 2 executive behind Ford's North American turnaround effort and the industry's highest-ranking woman, joined a recent exodus of top executives from the company. A new addition, however, is Alan Mulally, a top Boeing Co. executive who recently signed on to be Ford's chief executive, relieving Mr. Ford of that title.
Detroit Blues
Today's bombshells from Ford and DaimlerChrysler underscore the crisis facing Detroit's old-line Big Three auto makers and the United Auto Workers union. For years, managements at GM, Ford and Chrysler have warned that the high costs of the health-care, wage and pension packages negotiated with the UAW saddled their U.S. operations with costs Asian and European auto makers didn't bear. Analysts estimate the cost penalty for UAW-Big Three operations at $1,500 to $3,000 a vehicle – a huge deficit, particularly in highly competitive mass market segments such as small and midsize cars.
But for the past decade, Detroit's Big Three were able to put off a showdown over U.S. labor costs because profits from sales of sport utility vehicles and large pickups covered the losses on passenger cars. But now, the bottom has dropped out of Detroit's SUV franchise, because of increasing competition, shifts in consumer tastes and rising gas prices. Meanwhile, Asian and European manufacturers are accelerating production of vehicles at lower cost, non-union factories in the southern U.S., Canada and Mexico.
Earlier this year, GM convinced more than 34,000 U.S. hourly workers to leave the payroll by offering buyout packages of up to $140,000. So far, GM has been able to see those workers off without any serious glitches in production – a demonstration of how much productivity has improved during the past decade. Now, Ford is looking to cut another 30,000 UAW jobs through buyouts. Chrysler has not so far proposed a buyout deal, but Chrysler is pressing the UAW to grant it concessions on retiree healthcare similar to those granted GM and Ford.
The Big Three could seek more concessions from the UAW in national contract talks scheduled to begin in the fall of 2007, and in local plant contract talks underway now.
But long term, the business strategies of Detroit's Big Three will face continued competitive challenges that will likely push them to become less and less "American" in terms of manufacturing and employment. Chrysler, of course, is already essentially the U.S. unit of German giant DaimlerChrysler AG. GM has been moving aggressively to shift purchasing, manufacturing and engineering to lower cost countries such as China or Mexico. Ford has looked at stepping up investments in Mexico to build more vehicles for the U.S.
Ford Buyouts
Ford's buyout offers are similar to GM's in that a worker can get as much as $140,000 to leave the company and leave behind his or her retiree health-care benefits. The most-generous of Ford's eight different buyout packages is limited to workers with at least 30 years of service or those that are at least 55 years old and have at least 10 years of service.
"Ford is realizing it's time to get real. They've got to take their lumps like GM did last year," said David Cole, president of the Center for Automotive Research, an auto-analysis firm in Ann Arbor, Mich.
Mr. Cole said the ability of Ford to negotiate new local contracts with about 10 stamping and powertrain plants in the past few months, so-called Competitive Operating Agreements, may have limited its need to close many more plants. Such agreements can save the auto maker 25% to 30% on labor costs, according to a UAW official, by allowing Ford to outsource more work or eliminate job classifications that required higher staffing levels.
Word of the UAW buyout deal was faxed to UAW locals Thursday afternoon. "Once again, our members are stepping up to make hard choices under difficult circumstances," the union's president, Ron Gettelfinger, wrote in the fax. "Now, it's Ford Motor Company's responsibility to lead this company in a positive direction -- which means using the skills, experience and dedication to quality that UAW members demonstrate every day in order to deliver quality vehicles to customers."
Bumpy Ride
Ford's shares have skidded as the US auto maker tries to get back on track.
Ford continues to struggle with declining US market share, high labor costs and excess plant capacity. The auto maker's Way Forward plan, rolled out in late January, was designed to return North American operations to profitability by 2008. But Ford reported a loss of $1.25 billion in North America for the first half and in August moved to cut fourth-quarter production by 21%, or 168,000 units. In early September, Boeing executive Alan Mulally was named president and CEO, succeeding Bill Ford Jr., who will remain chairman. A little more than a week later, the company accelerated its overhaul, unveiling plans to cut its salaried work force by a third, or roughly 14,000 positions, and offering buyouts to all 75,000 of its North American factory workers. Source: WSJ.com research, Thomas Datastream
Ford's Accelerated North America Way Forward Turnaround Plan
MARK FIELDS / Webcast Transcript 15sep2006
FORD ACCELERATES ‘WAY FORWARD’
NEW PRODUCTS, LEANER STRUCTURE FURTHER DEFINE TURNAROUND
Following is a transcript of remarks as prepared for delivery by Mark Fields, Ford Motor Company Executive Vice President and President of The Americas, on Friday, Sept. 15, 2006, during a webcast to discuss the company’s accelerated North America Way Forward turnaround plan.
Thanks, Alan (Mulally), and good morning, everyone.
I’d like to especially welcome the men and women of the Ford Motor Company who are watching this webcast, just like many of them do each week as we report on the progress of our Way Forward plan.
During earlier webcasts, we’ve highlighted our progress. We’ve explained the customer-led vision that our design, engineering and marketing teams now share for the Ford, Lincoln and Mercury brands. And we’ve celebrated product and quality achievements, like the growing number of accolades for our mid-size sedans.
The Ford Fusion, Mercury Milan and Lincoln Zephyr are the highest-quality products we’ve ever introduced, and they rapidly have established themselves as credible competitors in a segment dominated for too long by the Japanese. For me, it’s been rewarding to communicate our progress, as well as our challenges.
And one of the biggest changes I’ve seen as a result of the Way Forward plan is a new culture of candor and honesty in both our decision-making and our communications. We’ve remained dedicated to honest, open, two-way communications throughout the business – even when we have tough news to deliver. And today is no exception.
When we met with you in late January, we presented an aggressive plan to rebuild our North American business. We explained that the Way Forward plan focuses every part of the business on the customer – building stronger brands, strengthening our product lineup and delivering improved quality, while accelerating progress on competitive costs and productivity.
Now, a lot has changed since January, and it’s required us to take another look at the industry and our business in light of the significant changes we’ve seen externally. The conclusion has been very clear. We need to go further and faster, and accelerate our pace.
What we communicated as a six-year plan in January now needs to be focused squarely on the actions we must take starting today – and continuing through the end of 2008 – to turn around this business once and for all.
Now, let me be clear: The fundamentals of our Way Forward plan have not changed. It’s our timetable that has changed – and changed dramatically. Let’s talk about why.
In April, gas prices rose 40 cents a gallon to $2.90, and it hit $3 a gallon this summer for the first time since Hurricane Katrina. This triggered an acceleration in demand away from less fuel- efficient vehicles. And it hit full-size pickups – our bread and butter – particularly hard.
Our trucks continue to do well, and they’re outpacing the competition. Through August, our segment share is up 1 point, and we remain America’s truck leader by a wide margin. But the segment itself has suffered a shock this year.
In the first quarter, full-size pickups did fairly well – with sales about even with last year. But, in the second quarter, the bottom fell out. Pickups were 12.7 percent of the industry compared with
14.5 percent for all of last year. That decline, on an annual basis, equates to roughly 300,000 fewer industry-wide truck sales. Put another way: a 2-point shift away from trucks in the U.S. has an annual industry-wide price tag of about $8 billion in lost revenue. This segment shift has a substantial impact on the entire industry but on Ford in particular, where the F-Series accounts for a third of our sales.
In addition to gas prices, commodity costs are up substantially this year. That has put even more pressure on the business. Rhodium and copper are up about 60 percent. Platinum and palladium are up about 30 percent. And steel has risen another 15 percent.
Added to this are demographic changes that will accelerate over the next decade and dramatically affect the types of vehicles we produce. Just as the largest buying group, the Baby Boomers, are downsizing every other aspect of their lives – including their homes –they are moving to smaller cars, crossovers, small SUVs and small premium utilities.
The net result? This chart sums up where we think the industry is headed within the next 10 years. As you can see, the winners include crossovers and small-cars, as well as small premium utilities.
Against these challenges, it is now clear that we were too optimistic in January about our ability to stabilize our market share given the quicker than expected shifts in the marketplace.
The simple fact is that the business model that served us in North America for decades no longer works. We must change to a new business model that delivers greater bottom-line contributions from cars and crossovers, continued leadership in pickups, new products that drive revenue and actions that more rapidly reduce costs to achieve profitability.
So, how are we going to get the job done?
This spring, we began looking at accelerating the Way Forward plan. And we’re now ready with the actions we need to take by the end of 2008 to position ourselves for future profitability. And that is the focus of today: now through 2008.
Our accelerated actions are two-fold: products and costs.
Let’s start with the products, because this remains a product-led turnaround first and foremost. As we made clear in January – and as we will underscore today – the future of Ford will be driven by bold, innovative products. To that end, we are strengthening and accelerating our product plans for Ford, Lincoln and Mercury.
We’ve reexamined our entire cycle plan, and we’ve accelerated work on future products. Development is now under way on five new vehicles that previously did not exist and that will be on the road in the future. And, even in the near term, the pace will accelerate.
Between now and the end of 2008, 70 percent of our Ford, Lincoln and Mercury lineup by volume will be all-new or significantly freshened. That includes strong new vehicles in new segments like the new Ford Edge and Lincoln MKX crossovers that go on sale in November – and our new Super Duty pickup, which we will reveal in two weeks.
Our plans also include some vehicles you haven’t seen yet – like the next-generation F-150. Since January, we have dramatically expanded our original plans for the next-generation F-150 which goes on sale in 2008. As a sign of just how serious we are about truck leadership, we literally stopped development for two months earlier this year, and we took a look at every element of the product to ensure we remain America’s unquestioned truck leader.
The results are substantial, including a full redesign of the product from front to back, more innovative customer features and technologies, and an even stronger powertrain lineup. That, by the way, includes adding higher performance gas and clean diesel options for the F-150 beyond 2008.
What else has changed? More Mustangs.
We added additional Mustang derivatives to our near-term product plans – to ensure we have at least one new Mustang every year. One of those will be the return of the Bullitt, and it’s coming in 2008.
To help us earn our fair share of the growing market for small SUVs, we’re also introducing redesigned gas and hybrid versions of the Ford Escape and Mercury Mariner, which go on sale early next year.
Also coming next year are updated versions of the Ford Five Hundred, Ford Freestyle and the Mercury Montego. They include bolder styling, upgraded interiors and more powerful engines.
We also have an updated Ford Focus coming next year with new interior and exterior styling to help us capture more of the growing market for small cars.
In 2008, we further strengthen the Lincoln brand. In August, I confirmed plans for a new Lincoln flagship sedan the Lincoln MKS. We plan to build it in Chicago and equip it with more technology and features than any Lincoln before it, including all-wheel drive and a new, exclusive 3.7-liter engine.
We’re also committed to delivering even more crossovers to maintain our leadership in this booming segment. We expect the new Ford Edge and Lincoln MKX to make huge waves when they go on sale in November. And to keep that momentum going, we will introduce an all-new Ford full-size crossover based on the Fairlane concept that was a huge hit at auto shows last year.
With bold, American design, three rows of seating and about 23 miles to the gallon, we believe this all-new vehicle can redefine the people-mover for the 21st century. We will build this new crossover at our Oakville Assembly Plant in Ontario to take advantage of the significant investment we’ve made in flexible manufacturing there.
We’re also delivering safety sooner because it continues to grow in importance to our customers. We have sped up the standardization of safety features across our lineup. Two-thirds of our vehicles will have standard side air curtains, and half will have electronic stability control by the end of 2008. And, by the end of 2009, all of our retail products will have standard side air bag protection and electronic stability control.
Now, speaking of innovation, we remain fully committed to our strategy to improve fuel economy, lower emissions and reduce the country’s dependence on imported oil.
This is more than just words.
We have shifted our focus from simply delivering CAFE obligations to a customer-focused strategy that requires competitive fuel economy for every vehicle – regardless of the body style or powertrain.
We will do it through major investments in new gasoline, flexible-fuel, diesel, hydrogen and hybrid powertrains – including additional ethanol-powered and hybrid vehicles on the road by the end of 2008. In addition, two out of every three Ford, Lincoln and Mercury vehicles will be offered with fuel-saving 6-speed transmissions by the end of 2008.
And this is just the start. We’re also speeding our product development time and improving time to market between 30 and 50 percent by the end of 2008. And, in 2009 and beyond, the product onslaught accelerates even further. We will leverage our global product capability like never before, including new small cars developed from our B- and C-platforms not used presently here in North America.
Now, as I said earlier, the future cannot be delivered without changing our business model and addressing our uncompetitive cost position. The reality is that our business today is structured around a model that worked well for us a decade ago but is no longer viable today.
Going forward, we must take a conservative and realistic view of our revenue and cost position. We must base our business on the customer – and that includes aligning our structure our production and our capacity with customer demand.
Toward that, we now expect our U.S. market share for Ford and Lincoln Mercury to be in the low 16 percent range at the end of this year. We expect it to decline again in 2007 as we discontinue the Ford Taurus sedan and Ford Freestar minivan, which all were primarily sold to daily rental fleets.
Going forward, with our investment in new products and improvements in quality, we expect to be in the 14 to 15 percent range – with a focus on profitable retail share. We expect these market share declines, as well as continued high raw material costs, to delay the return of full-year profitability for our North American auto operations until 2009.
Clearly, we could have cut product programs and maintained our goal of North American profitability in 2008. But we cannot – and we will not – retreat from the critical investments to deliver more products for our customers. The competitive landscape and our future demand it.
In line with this new reality, we will resize our business in North America. That includes reducing our total annual operating costs by about $5 billion by the end of 2008. As part of these cuts, we will reduce our salary-related costs by about a third, or about 14,000 equivalent salaried positions. We will do so through early retirements, voluntary separations and, if necessary, involuntary separations. We expect most employees will leave by the end of the first quarter of 2007.
On the hourly side, we continue to work with the UAW to improve the competitiveness of our U.S. manufacturing facilities. New competitive operating agreements have been ratified by UAW locals in 30 different U.S. facilities for Ford and our Automotive Components Holdings facilities. The result is nearly $600 million in annual savings.
We also have reached an agreement with the UAW to extend buy-out offers to all Ford and ACH hourly employees in the U.S. Employees will begin receiving details by mid-October.
The move allows us to accelerate by four years our previously announced goal of reducing 25,000 to 30,000 North American manufacturing employees by the end of 2012. These moves are being taken in parallel with our efforts to match our installed capacity with demand.
As we announced in January, our North American capacity is being reduced by 26 percent by the end of 2008 versus 2005. In January, we said we would idle seven facilities through 2008. Today, we are announcing two more.
It is our intent to idle our Maumee Stamping Plant in 2008 and to cease production at our Essex Engine Plant next year. In addition, we will idle our Norfolk Assembly Plant a year earlier than planned. And we will eliminate a shift in advance of idling Norfolk and our Twin Cities Assembly Plant.
Norfolk production will move to our Dearborn Truck Plant, where we will add a third crew, beginning in 2007. And, to meet ongoing demand, we intend to move production of the Lincoln Town Car to our St. Thomas Assembly Plant, following the end of production at Wixom next year.
All together, we have announced plans to idle and cease production at 16 of our North American manufacturing facilities by the end of 2012 including seven vehicle assembly plants.
We also are announcing today that ACH is accelerating its efforts and will sell or close all facilities by the end of 2008.
We believe these changes – which are massive – will be enough to put us back on track. But we will remain quick, decisive and flexible in reacting to changing conditions in the future.
We know these decisions bring even more pain to the business in the short-term, and they will require sacrifice from our employees, labor unions, dealers and suppliers.
We also know that our work is far from over. But, together, we are building a much stronger Ford Motor Company and a more secure future.
As you look at all of these actions – from our accelerated product plans to our faster cost and capacity actions – you can see that we are taking challenges head on. We’re dealing with the world as it is – not as it was 10 years ago.
As we’ve outlined today, we are committed to moving further and faster throughout our business. And we are more passionate than ever to deliver our results.
Thank you.
Ford Aims to Cut Union Work Force Through Buyouts
As Financial Crisis Deepens, A Senior Executive Departs;
Another Big Blow to UAW
JEFFREY MCCRACKEN / Wall Street Journal 15sep2006
Ford Motor Co. plans to offer buyouts to all 75,000 of its North American factory workers in hopes of cutting its payroll costs by nearly a third, as the nation's second-biggest auto maker tries to accelerate its restructuring to head off a deepening financial crisis.
The buyouts, to be announced today, come amid indications that Ford will post wider losses and burn through more cash this year than previously expected. They also came as Anne Stevens, the No. 2 executive behind Ford's North American turnaround effort and the industry's highest-ranking woman, joined a recent exodus of top executives from the company.
Ford's buyout plan follows a similar program offered this year by General Motors Corp., through which it shed 34,000 North American workers. Coupled with the GM buyouts, the Ford buyouts mean the once-powerful United Auto Workers union could end up losing as many as 50,000 members this year alone -- nearly equivalent to the number of UAW workers now employed by DaimlerChrysler Corp.
Two senior officials say Ford has concluded its stated goal of profitability in North America by 2008 is unrealistic, though it isn't clear whether Ford will say so today. One official said Ford will "come in well under" the more than $20 billion it had previously estimated it would have in cash on hand at the end of 2006. Through the first half of the year, losses at Ford's North American operations have totaled $1.3 billion, including $826 million in the second quarter.
With new Chief Executive Alan Mulally just over a week into his job, Ford also is expected to outline plans to cut its salaried work force and related costs by 30% and to accelerate plant closings. The company previously had said it didn't plan to offer companywide buyouts.
Meanwhile, Ford is expected to retain all its U.S. brands in the overhaul and to hang on to consumer-finance unit Ford Credit. Some Wall Street analysts had argued that junk-rated Ford should consider selling a piece of Ford Credit and phase out its struggling Mercury brand.Ford spokeswoman Becky Sanch declined to comment on the auto maker's plans. Details of the announcement were still being finalized late yesterday.
Ford stock had risen in recent days on anticipation of a more aggressive restructuring plan, though shares shed 10 cents, or 1.1%, yesterday to $9.09 by 4 p.m. in New York Stock Exchange composite trading. If the plan lacks definitive statements on issues such as the possible sale of luxury-car maker Jaguar, that could disappoint some investors, said John Murphy, auto analyst at Merrill Lynch. "I just think they are reluctant to pull the levers they need to," he said.
Ford's earlier overhaul, the "Way Forward" plan released in January, had proposed eliminating 30,000 hourly jobs, at the time about 35% of the company's U.S. hourly workers, and 4,000 salaried jobs by 2012. Those cuts, and more, likely will come three or four years faster under the revised plan. Ford had about 82,000 hourly workers in the U.S. at the start of the year.
Ford's buyout offers are similar to GM's in that a worker can get as much as $140,000 to leave the company and leave behind his or her retiree health-care benefits. The most-generous of Ford's eight different buyout packages is limited to workers with at least 30 years of service or those that are at least 55 years old and have at least 10 years of service.
"Ford is realizing it's time to get real. They've got to take their lumps like GM did last year," said David Cole, president of the Center for Automotive Research, an auto-analysis firm in Ann Arbor, Mich.
Mr. Cole said the ability of Ford to negotiate new local contracts with about 10 stamping and powertrain plants in the past few months, so-called Competitive Operating Agreements, may have limited its need to close many more plants. Such agreements can save the auto maker 25% to 30% on labor costs, according to a UAW official, by allowing Ford to outsource more work or eliminate job classifications that required higher staffing levels.
For the UAW, agreeing to companywide buyouts at Ford is the latest concession to the competitive crisis that has engulfed Detroit's two biggest unionized auto makers. The UAW also agreed to cuts in retiree health benefits at GM and Ford, although it has refused to agree to matching cuts at DaimlerChrysler's Chrysler Group. With Chrysler now forecasting wide losses and struggling to reverse slumping sales, the union's resolve will be tested.
By accepting huge job cuts within the past year at GM and Ford and their respective former parts units, the UAW is gambling it can preserve its health-care and retirement benefits in national contract talks with Detroit's Big Three next year. The companies are likely to continue to press the weakened union, arguing Detroit's UAW-represented operations can't compete with nonunion factories in the U.S. run by the companies' foreign rivals.
Word of the UAW buyout deal was faxed to UAW locals yesterday afternoon. "Once again, our members are stepping up to make hard choices under difficult circumstances," the union's president, Ron Gettelfinger, wrote in the fax. "Now, it's Ford Motor Company's responsibility to lead this company in a positive direction -- which means using the skills, experience and dedication to quality that UAW members demonstrate every day in order to deliver quality vehicles to customers."
Ford already had some limited, targeted buyouts operating under the "Way Forward." The latest move essentially expands those offers across the company. Offers range from $35,000 for workers with 30 or more years experience, who can leave and keep their full retiree benefits, to a flat $100,000 payment to younger workers who leave the auto maker and give up retiree health care and Ford pensions.
For workers who want to go to college or vocational school for four years, Ford will provide half their usual pay, about $27,000 on average, while they receive full medical coverage and their tuition is paid for. Workers choosing this plan could keep any accumulated pension but must leave behind any retiree medical benefits.
About 6,500 hourly workers have left Ford this year under current plans. Workers at Ford's ACH plants, comprised of the former Visteon Corp., will be able to flow back into Ford plants, much like workers at parts maker Delphi Corp. were able to return to GM plants.
GM was able to get about 34,000 workers to take early-out programs, with about 31,000 taking early-retirement plans. GM executives say the larger-than-expected exodus has put GM on track to cut annual costs by $9 billion.
Ford may not be as successful because it doesn't have as many older workers close to retirement. Ford's hourly workers on average have 7.5 fewer years on the job than GM's -- with an average of about 18 years at Ford, according to a report published yesterday by Merrill Lynch.
Meanwhile, Ford's outside directors are increasingly concerned by the exodus of management talent at the auto maker and by signs that Ford's automotive operations are weakening not just in the U.S., but in other parts of the world, too, said individuals familiar with the situation.
Ford's management woes were highlighted by the abrupt departure of Ms. Stevens, a chief architect of the "Way Forward." Ford made a counteroffer to keep her, said a Ford senior official, but she decided to leave anyway. Ford said Ms. Stevens was unavailable for comment.
Ford said David Szczupak, group vice president for Americas manufacturing, also is retiring. Others who have left in the past 18 months include the head of product development, head of hybrid programs and chief financial officer of Ford Credit.
It wasn't clear whether Ford would announce more plant closures as part of its accelerated restructuring. Almost "any facility is vulnerable," said Catherine Madden, an auto industry analyst at Global Insight Inc. She said her analysis was based on conversations with Ford suppliers.
The auto maker's Michigan Truck Plant -- one of the most profitable in the world in the late 1990s -- could be at risk. The Wayne, Mich., plant makes Ford Expeditions and Lincoln Navigators, once-popular sport-utility vehicles that have fallen out of favor amid high gasoline prices. "You've got people in the truck plant that are scared," said Brian Quantz, vice president of UAW Local 900, which represents Michigan Truck Plant. "They're afraid they're going to shut their plant down."
The Expedition and Navigator share similar architecture with Ford's F-series trucks, meaning they could be built at the auto maker's newer Dearborn Truck Plant. "I see them as a candidate" for closure, Ms. Madden said of the Michigan Truck Plant, "because essentially what they're building there could be built at the Dearborn facility."
Ms. Madden said Ford's Wayne Assembly plant, which makes the Focus small car, also could be vulnerable, because the car's sales have tumbled fast and the auto maker has discussed building a new low-cost facility that could build a Focus-size vehicle plus another small car. Both Michigan Truck and Wayne share the same UAW local and were considered for closure with the first Way Forward plan.
---- Mike Spector contributed to this article.
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