Ford page 1

Ford page 1 by ric gustafson


In September of 2006, the great grandson of Henry Ford Bill Ford Jr resigned as Ford's chief executive officer. A few minutes later, Alan Mulally became Ford's new CEO. Mulally was president of Boeing's commercial aviation division. Mulally saved Boeing from disaster and now was hired to save Ford. At one time Ford, General Motors and Chrysler were Detroit's Big Three automakers. From the 1920's to the 1970's, the Big Three dominated the automobile industry. As the three automakers share shrunk, they all had too many factories, too many workers and too many dealers.
For five years, Bill Ford Jr tried to salvage and take charge of Ford. Quality started to improve and they introduced a hybrid to the market. Because of rising gas prices, customers were staying away from Ford's big trucks and SUV's. Bill Ford asked Mark Fields to restructure their US automotive business. Fields shut down factories and slashed jobs. It was not enough and Toyota outsold Ford for the first time. In 2006 alone, Ford had a loss of 6 billion in the third quarter.
What happened?. The story of Ford begins with a man named Henry Ford.


research help: ' American Icon' by Bryce G Hoffman

Peace and God's blessings. Love Ric