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DETROIT (Reuters) – Ford Motor Co ‘s (N:F) new chief executive, Jim Farley, on Thursday promised the U.S. automaker would move with urgency, responding to investor and analyst criticism of the speed at which his predecessor acted.
Farley, on his first day as Ford’s 11th CEO, also announced an executive shake-up that included naming a new chief financial officer.
Ford’s promise to accelerate its turnaround is not new at a time when it is executing an $11 billion restructuring.
Farley was named chief operating officer in February and promised a faster return to strong profits. He was officially tapped to succeed Jim Hackett in August.
“During the past three years, under Jim Hackett’s leadership, we have made meaningful progress and opened the door to becoming a vibrant, profitably growing company,” Farley said in a statement on Thursday. “Now it’s time to charge through that door.”
Hackett and Ford have been criticized by some on Wall Street for not moving quickly enough on its restructuring. At the end of the second quarter, the Dearborn, Michigan-based company had incurred only $3.9 billion of the projected $11 billion in charges.
Ford on Thursday reaffirmed its goal for operating margins of 8%, something it identified as a 2020 target before the coronavirus pandemic hit. It did not specify when it would achieve this target.
Ford’s operating margin was 4.1% last year, before falling to negative 4.8% in the first half of 2020 due to the coronavirus outbreak.
The company also said John Lawlor would succeed Tim Stone as CFO.
Stone, who will remain with Ford through Oct. 15, accepted a job as COO and CFO with ASAPP Inc, an artificial-intelligence software company. Stone had been in the CFO job only since June 2019.
Farley outlined his objectives during a virtual town hall meeting with Ford’s global team on Thursday, saying the company will allocate capital to its strongest franchises and high-growth opportunities, such as the F-Series pickup truck and its commercial business.
It also will add more affordable vehicles to its global lineup, build electric vehicles at scale and stand up new autonomous-enabled businesses, he said. Decision making will be pushed down to the regional level.
