DETROIT, Oct. 16 (UPI) -- Ford is denying published reports that Chief Executive Officer Jacques Nasser is on his way out because of falling profits and other problems at the world's No. 2 automaker.
Ford Communications Director Jason Vines called the report "speculation" and said he would not "speculate on bogus speculation. Ten years from now, when Jacques decides to retire, some will say, 'I told you so,'" Vines told Tuesday's The New York Times.
Forbes.com reported Nasser has lost the confidence of the Ford family and likely will be ousted before the end of the year. Quoting sources, Forbes said the family is frustrated over quality control glitches, the Firestone tire debacle and the collapse of profits. The family controls 40 percent of the company's stock.
Ford's second quarter results are due out Wednesday and they're expected to show a second consecutive quarterly loss. Ford car sales fell 11.1 percent in September, compared with August, while truck sales were off 9.2 percent. Sales for the month were the lowest in more than two years.
Share prices fell to $17.43 on the New York Stock Exchange in early Tuesday afternoon trading, compared to $31.35 on April 17. Additionally, Standard & Poor's downgraded the company's credit rating Monday and last week the board of directors voted to cut dividends for the first time in a decade.
Forbes said Chairman William Clay Ford Jr., who has taken a more active role in day-to-day operations in recent months, is seen as a possible replacement for Nasser. His late uncle, Henry Ford II, was the last family member to head the company. His reign ended in 1980.
Also cited as a possible Nasser successor is Nick Scheele, who returned to Dearborn, Mich., this summer from Ford operations in Europe as vice president for North America, charged with orchestrating a company turnaround. Scheele is seen as a possible chief operating officer if Ford takes the top job.
Ford's board is scheduled to meet in November. The company had been planning to issue a restructuring plan in December that could include an additional 2,000 white-collar layoffs and possible plant closings to save as much as $4 billion in cost cuts.
In August, Ford announced an employee-buyout program for white-collar employees in a bid to eliminate as many as 5,000 positions from its U.S. salaried workforce. Packages were supposed to be unveiled Monday.
