Ford to Outline Management Changes

Ford Motor Co. plans to announce a new round of high-level management changes as soon as today as part of the auto maker’s turnaround effort, according to published reports.

Ford is expected to announce that Allan Gilmour, 67, a retired Ford vice chairman, is returning to his former job as Ford’s chief financial officer, according to the Detroit Free Press and the Detroit News.

Martin Inglis, chief financial officer since July, is to shift to a corporate strategy position and report to Gilmour, the News reported Sunday. Ford of Europe Chairman David Thursfield, 57, will become group vice president, international operations, and head of global purchasing.

Ford spokesman Nick Sharkey said the company did not have anything to announce Sunday, and declined to confirm whether an announcement would come today.

The changes, four months into the company’s restructuring, would solidify Chairman William Clay Ford Jr.’s management team and place Thursfield in line to eventually succeed Nick Scheele as president and chief operating officer.

Ford announced a restructuring plan in January that calls for closing at least five plants and reducing its work force by 35,000 employees. The company is focusing on a “back-to-basics” strategy to revitalize its business.

Ford’s management reshuffling began with the ouster in October of Jacques Nasser as chief executive. Ford promoted Scheele, 58, to the company’s No. 2 position and coaxed Carl Reichardt, 70, out of retirement to oversee the company’s financial affairs as vice chairman.