Reply #36: CEO: Ford won't rush downsizing plan

[UpInArms]

http://www.marketwatch.com/news/print_story.asp?print=1&guid={BB7B191E-2C3E-466A-949C-88394AC7B3AB}&siteid=mktw

WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) -- Ford Motor Co. won't rush details of its expected plan to trim U.S. jobs and close factories in the wake of General Motors Corp.'s announcement this week that it would close several North American plants and eliminate 30,000 jobs, CEO Bill Ford said Tuesday.

Mark Fields, the executive named to head Ford's Americas unit just last month, is scheduled to provide a downsizing plan to the automaker's board of directors in December. The Dearborn, Mich.-based company (F) has said it would detail the plan in January, and has warned that plant closings were likely to be part of it.

In a question-and-answer session following a speech on the need for government and industry cooperation on energy issues, including government incentives for research and sales of hybrid and alternative fuel vehicles, Ford rejected suggestions that the nation's No. 2 automaker needed to accelerate the rollout of its plan.

Ford said it was crucial that Fields and other executives working on the plan, which has been dubbed "Way Forward," have adequate time to formulate a long-range strategy.

...more...