Ford CEO Bill Ford sent employees a memo on Friday on the future of the automaker, and what is being done to get it back on track. In it, he outlines the three “tracks” of his approach, which include North America Way Forward acceleration, Global corporate structure, and Leadership. He said a variety of options are on the table for Ford’s next major step, with no finalized plans yet. See the full letter after the jump…
Bill Ford :
There is no shortage of attention directed at the Ford Motor Company these days. I know that all the speculation about our future can be quite a distraction at times, but we should not be surprised at the heightened level of interest considering the millions of lives our people, our business and our products touch every day.
As the race continues among the media to report the latest Ford “development,†the accumulation of sometimes conflicting stories can create a disturbing sense of confusion about our planning and priorities. The simple truth is that we are methodically evaluating a variety of options for our future. Many of you are anxious to know what comes next and how it will affect you. The process takes time, but we remain committed to keeping you informed and to announcing significant decisions when we make them.
Behind all of this is the simple fact that the business model that sustained us for decades is no longer sufficient to sustain profitability. We must change to a new business model that requires greater bottom-line contributions from cars and crossovers, continued leadership in pickups in North America, healthier profits from all other business units, growth in Asia, greater integration of our global operations and an evaluation of strategic alliances.
That’s why I have organized my approach along three tracks:
1. North America Way Forward acceleration: Clearly, the return to profitability in North America – our largest business unit – is a key to our success around the world. I am reviewing regularly with Mark Fields and his team the progress they are making on reaching our objectives and pushing to make certain that we do so. I’ve asked the North America leadership team to focus on two objectives: putting in place new product actions that drive revenue and rapidly reducing costs to achieve profitability.
2. Global corporate structure: It’s apparent to me that Ford Motor Company cannot achieve the benefits of its size and global reach without greater integration at the operational level. Of course, that begins with product development. Since I became CEO in 2001, we have aligned Ford, Lincoln and Mercury product development much more closely with Mazda and Volvo to achieve greater efficiency and produce more exciting vehicles. We have achieved similar success with the integration of Ford of Europe and our Premier Automotive Group. Going forward, I want to drive this effort even deeper.
3. Leadership: Over the past few months, I have made it my business to become more personally involved in the detailed operations of our business. This has helped clarify for me what our needs are and what our priorities should be. It also has deepened my confidence in our leadership team and made me even more determined to continue to develop leaders inside the company and to attract leaders from outside when we need additional skills to turnaround our business.
It is important to note that all of the issues that some onlookers view as “problems†for our company are issues that I view as opportunities. The way to turn critics into believers is to demonstrate progress on all three of the areas outlined above.
These should not be days of “fear” for the people of the Ford Motor Company as one headline put it recently. While I certainly understand the sense of uncertainty over specific tactics until some key decisions are made, our general course is clear: we are changing Ford Motor Company for the better. We are updating our business model and altering our structure to execute it accordingly. Ultimately, that will make us a stronger, more competitive company.
Thank you for your continuing efforts to build a better Ford.
Bill Ford
