Ford CEO Jim Hackett is stepping down effective Oct. 1 as the automaker's turnaround plan has shown no signs of appeasing investors.
Shares rose over 3 percent on the announcement.
Hackett will be replaced by chief operating officer Jim Farley, who oversees the automaker’s global operations and has been behind recent product revamps including the relaunch of the Ford Bronco. Farley and Hackett will work closely over the next two months to ensure a smooth transition.
"I am very grateful to Jim Hackett for all he has done to modernize Ford and prepare us to compete and win in the future,” executive chairman Bill Ford said in a statement. "Jim Farley matches an innate feel for cars and customers with great instincts for the future and the new technologies that are changing our industry.”
Hackett, whose departures comes after more than three years at the helm of the company, engineered the companies push into the smart vehicle space. He will stay on as a special adviser through March 2021.
Hackett joined Ford’s board of directors in 2013 and was named chairman of Ford Smart Mobility in March 2016, just over two years after retiring as CEO of office furniture manufacturer Steelcase.
In May 2019, Hackett announced a restructuring plan that eliminated 7,000 salaried jobs, or about 10 percent of the global workforce, and saved the company $600 million annually. But the plan has done little to restore investor confidence. The company's credit rating was downgraded to junk in September amid doubts over the turnaround plan.
Shares slumped 39.7 percent under Hackett's leadership, according to Dow Jones Market Data. They were down more than 28 percent this year, compared to the S&P 500's 1.98 percent gain.
Ford CEO Jim Hackett to step down
Shares rose over 3 percent on the announcement.
Hackett will be replaced by chief operating officer Jim Farley, who oversees the automaker’s global operations and has been behind recent product revamps including the relaunch of the Ford Bronco. Farley and Hackett will work closely over the next two months to ensure a smooth transition.
"I am very grateful to Jim Hackett for all he has done to modernize Ford and prepare us to compete and win in the future,” executive chairman Bill Ford said in a statement. "Jim Farley matches an innate feel for cars and customers with great instincts for the future and the new technologies that are changing our industry.”
Hackett, whose departures comes after more than three years at the helm of the company, engineered the companies push into the smart vehicle space. He will stay on as a special adviser through March 2021.
Hackett joined Ford’s board of directors in 2013 and was named chairman of Ford Smart Mobility in March 2016, just over two years after retiring as CEO of office furniture manufacturer Steelcase.
In May 2019, Hackett announced a restructuring plan that eliminated 7,000 salaried jobs, or about 10 percent of the global workforce, and saved the company $600 million annually. But the plan has done little to restore investor confidence. The company's credit rating was downgraded to junk in September amid doubts over the turnaround plan.
Shares slumped 39.7 percent under Hackett's leadership, according to Dow Jones Market Data. They were down more than 28 percent this year, compared to the S&P 500's 1.98 percent gain.
Ford CEO Jim Hackett to step down
